THE  LIBRARY 

OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
RIVERSIDE 


/ 
75*73056> 


AMERICAN  CITIZEN  SERIES. 

EDITED  BY 

ALBERT  BUSHNELL  HART,  LL.D. 


OUTLINE 

OF 

PRACTICAL  SOCIOLOGY 


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CARROLL  D.  WRIGHT. 


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Outline 

of 


Practical  Sociology, 


WITH   SPECIAL    REFERENCE    TO 
AMERICAN  CONDITIONS. 


BY 

CARROLL    D.  WRIGHT,  LL.D., 

ent  of  Clark  College;  Hate  JSntteli  States  CommiaBtoner  of  Eaior ; 
AUTHOR  OF  "INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION  OK  THE  UNITED  STATES," 

ETC.,   ETC. 


SIXTH   EDITION,    REVISED. 


NEW   YORK: 
LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND   CO., 

LONDON  AND  BOMBAY. 
I9O6. 


Copyright,  1898. 
BY  LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND  Co. 


FIRST  EDITION,  MAY,  1899. 
SECOND  EDITION,  REVISED,  SEPTEMBER,  1899. 
THIRD  EDITION,  REVISED,  SEPTEMBER,  1900. 

FOURTH  EDITION,  SEPTEMBER,  1901. 
FIFTH  EDITION,  REVISED,  NOVEMBER,  1902. 

REPRINTED  SEPTEMBER,  1904. 
SIXTH  EDITION,  REVISED,  SEPTEMBER,  1906. 


2Snibcrsitg 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


To  MY   WIFE  AND  DAUGHTERS. 


Preface. 

IN  preparing  this  work,  I  have  made  frequent  and 
generous  use  of  the  results  of  official  investigations 
which  have  been  carried  out  under  my  own  direction. 
They  comprehend  the  work  of  more  than  twenty-five 
years ;  and  as  they  cover  many  features  of  the  present 
volume,  I  have  felt  justified  in  using  them  more  freely 
than  other  official  publications.  The  reports  of  the 
various  State  bureaus  of  statistics  of  labour  offer  a  vast 
amount  of  valuable  but  cumulative  material  along  the 
very  lines  of  my  own  investigations.  I  have  also  drawn 
freely  from  lectures  on  social  economics  delivered  at 
the  Catholic  University  of  America  and  at  other  insti- 
tutions, and  free  use  has  also  been  made  of  articles  that 
I  have  published  in  various  magazines.  The  editors 
and  publishers  of  77/6-  Forum,  North  American  Review, 
Popular  Science  Monthly,  Atlantic  Monthly,  The  Chan- 
tauquan,  Munsey1  s,  The  Bulletin  oftJic  CatJiolic  University 
of  America,  Annals  of  the  American  Academy,  and  The 
Journal  of  Sociology  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  have 
generously  given  their  consent  for  the  use  of  articles  or 
portions  of  articles  that  have  appeared  in  those  periodi- 
cals. The  charts  and  diagrams  have  been  reproduced 
from  the  reports  of  the  Eleventh  Census,  with  the  kind 
permission  of  Hon.  CORNELIUS  N.  BLISS,  Secretary  of 


vi  Preface. 

the  Interior.  Where  figures  used  in  this  volume  do  not 
agree  with  those  given  in  the  census  or  in  the  articles 
to  which  reference  has  been  made,  the  changes  are  due 
to  reverification. 

It  is  not  intended  that  the  "  Outline  of  Practical  So- 
ciology" should  be  exhaustive;  there  are  many  great 
questions,  such  as  taxation,  the  finances,  etc.,  which 
have  not  been  included,  because  they  will  come  more 
appropriately  in  other  volumes  of  the  "  American  Citi- 
zen Series."  The  references  given  at  the  head  of  each 
chapter  could  have  been  greatly  increased  in  number, 
but  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  give  simply  those  that 
are  most  accessible. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  acknowledge  the  services  of  Messrs. 
CHARLES  W.  MORRIS,  Jr.,  WALTER  F.  CARRUTHERS, 
and  CHARLES  H.  VERRILL  in  the  verification  of  data 
and  citations  and  in  proof-reading  ;  and  I  am  under 
great  obligations  to  the  editors  and  publishers  of  the 
periodicals  enumerated  and  to  the  Honorable  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  and  am  especially  grateful  for  the  kind 
and  valuable  suggestions  of  Dr.  HART,  the  editor  of 
the  Series. 

CARROLL  D.   WRIGHT. 
WASHINGTON,  February  1899. 


Note   to   Fifth   Edition. 

THIS  revision  comprehends  changes  made  necessary 
by  the  publication  of  the  reports  of  the  Twelfth  United 
States  Census.  In  the  revision  it  has  been  impossible 
to  make  strictly  accurate  comparisons  relative  to  total 
population  for  different  periods,  for  the  reason  that 
prior  to  the  census  of  1900  such  totals  excluded  white 
persons  in  the  Indian  Territory,  Indians  on  reservations, 
and  the  population  of  Alaska,  these  being  stated  sepa- 
rately; at  the  Twelfth  Census  the  total  included  these 
and  the  population  of  Hawaii.  It  has  therefore  seemed 
wise  in  this  revision  to  adopt  the  census  method  and 
use  the  aggregate  of  all  populations  under  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  United  States  as  given  in  the  census 
reports.  Such  use  does  not  involve  any  great  variation 
in  the  percentages,  at  least  not  enough  variation  to 
warrant  the  constant  changes  that  would  be  necessary 
to  recognise  it. 

Some  of  the  charts  and  diagrams  appearing  in  pre- 
vious editions,  reproduced  from  the  reports  of  the 
Eleventh  Census,  do  not  appear  in  the  reports  of  the 
Twelfth,  but  the  improved  forms  of  the  latter  census 


viii  Note  to  Fifth  Edition. 

have  been  substituted  for  the  old  forms  with  the  kind 
consent  of  Hon.  William  R.  Merriam,  Director  of  the 
Twelfth  Census. 

The  titles  of  some  new  works  of  importance  have 
been  added  to  the  references  at  the  head  of  chapters. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Charles  W.  Morris  for  valuable 
assistance  in  making  the  changes  for  this  revision. 

CARROLL  D.  WRIGHT. 

WASHINGTON,  September,  1902. 


SUGGESTIONS   FOR    STUDENTS,   TEACHERS, 
AND    READERS. 

BY   THE   EDITOR. 

THE  volumes  of  the  American  Citizen  Series  are  intended  to 
serve  as  handbooks  on  the  subjects  of  which  they  treat,  by 
giving  a  systematic  outline  in  which  general  divisions  and 
relations  shall  be  made  clear,  problems  shall  be  studied,  and 
the  criteria  for  solving  them  shall  be  pointed  out.  It 
is  hoped,  however,  that  both  in  general  reading  and  in 
class  work  these  books  may  stimulate  further  inquiry;  and 
therefore  pains  have  been  taken  throughout  to  indicate  and 
to  classify  the  more  important  literature.  At  the  head  of 
each  chapter  will  be  found  a  bibliography  leading  to  addi- 
tional material,  both  secondary  and  primary.  It  will  thus 
be  easy  to  supplement  the  treatment  in  each  volume  by 
reference  to  the  appropriate  parts  of  other  treatises ;  and  it 
will  be  possible  also  to  illustrate  and  to  verify  by  going  to  the 
sources. 

Teachers  may  perhaps  find  it  interesting  and  profitable  to 
give  out  a  chapter  at  a  time  to  their  students  as  a  basis  for 
study ;  indeed,  the  numbering  of  the  paragraphs  is  intended 
to  make  easy  the  division  into  lessons.  By  using  the  refer- 
ences at  the  head  of  each  chapter  it  will  be  possible  for 
members  of  the  class  to  prepare  critiques  of  the  author's 
treatment,  or  topical  studies  of  subjects  which  he  has  not 
had  space  to  treat  in  detail,  or  on  which  there  is  contro- 
versy. The  author  has  clearly  stated  his  own  conclusions 
and  takes  the  responsibility  for  them,  and  he  therefore  does 
not  refer  simply  to  authorities  who  agree  with  him  :  in  the 
references  other  points  of  view  will  be  found  represented. 

One  class  exercise  which  will  be  much  facilitated  by  the 
references  is  the  graphic  representation  of  sociological  results 


x  Suggestions    for    Students,    Etc. 

in  maps  and  charts,  which  may  be  made  on  a  large  scale  for 
class  use.  Coordinate  charts  are  easy  to  make  and  to  under- 
stand ;  and  by  using  the  smaller  or  larger  outline  maps,  of  which 
several  series  are  now  published,  such  subjects  as  the  distri- 
bution of  property  or  wealth,  the  number  of  institutions  of 
learning,  etc.,  may  be  represented  to  the  eye. 


SMALL   REFERENCE   LIBRARY. 

THE  tendency  of  modern  teaching  is  to  make  the  text-book 
a  backbone  to  which  shall  be  attached  knowledge  gained  from 
other  sources ;  and  in  sociology  it  is  especially  important  that 
students  shall  have  access  to  and  shall  read  other  discussions. 
In  English,  there  is  no  extensive  general  bibliography  of  the 
whole  field  of  sociology.  Besides  the  classified  lists  which 
appear  throughout  this  volume  a  select  classified  bibliography 
of  books  and  articles  may  be  found  in  Gidd ings'  Principles  of 
Sociology,  pp.  422-442  ;  in  Fairbanks'  Introduction  to  Soci- 
ology, pp.  265-274;  and  in  Bowker  and  lies'  Reader's  Guide. 
In  Ely's  Socialism  and  Social  Reform,  pp.  399-442,  there  is  a 
list  of  books  on  general  socialistic  literature ;  and  there  is  also 
an  admirable  List  of  Books  on  Social  Reform,  issued  by  the 
Boston  Public  Library,  and  sold  for  five  cents.  The  collection 
to  which  it  refers  is  very  full,  but  the  list  does  not  include 
magazine  articles,  which  may  be  reached  through  Poole's  Index 
to  Periodical  Literature,  with  supplements.  In  the  American 
Journal  of  Sociology  appear  from  time  to  time  bibliographies 
upon  general  and  special  sociological  topics.  These  include 
periodical  literature.  In  Brookings  and  Ringwalt's  Briefs  for 
Debate  are  about  twenty-five  analytic  briefs  on  sociological 
subjects,  with  references  on  specific  arguments.  In  Municipal 
Affairs,  March  1901,  is  printed  a  bibliography  of  books  and  arti- 
cles on  sociological  reform  in  cities ;  this  excellent  bibliogra- 
phy is  international  in  scope,  and  is  C9ntinued  in  each  issue 
of  the  magazine  by  inserting  accumulated  titles.  See  also 
Chap.  I.,  §  i. 


SOCIOLOGICAL   BOOKS  USEFUL   FOR  A   SMALL 
REFERENCE    LIBRARY. 

FOR  GENERAL  REFERENCE. 

BLISS,  W.  D.   P.     The  Encyclopedia   of  Social  Reform.     New 

York,  1897.     pp.  vii,  1439. 
FAIRBANKS,  ARTHUR.     Introduction  to  Sociology.  •    New  York, 

1896.     pp.  xv,  274. 
GIDDINGS,  FRANKLIN  HENRY.     The  Elements  of  Sociology.    New 

York,  etc.,  1898.     pp.  xi,  353. 
SPENCER,  HERBERT.     The  Principles  of  Sociology.     3  vols.     New 

York,    1877-1897.     pp.  viii,   704,  a-z ;    xii,  667,   26;    x,  645. 

Also  Spencer's  Study  of  Sociology  and  First  Principles. 
WARD,  LESTER  FRANK.     Outlines  of  Sociology.     New  York,  etc., 

1898.     pp.  xii,  301. 

FOR  SPECIAL  REFERENCE. 

ELY,  RICHARD  T.     Socialism  and  Social  Reform.     New  York, 

1894.     pp.  xiii,  449. 
FERRI,  ENRICO.     Criminal  Sociology.     New  York,  1896.     pp.  xx, 

284. 
GOODNOW,  FRANK  J.     Municipal  Problems.     New  York,  1897. 

pp.  xiii,  321. 
SMITH,    RICHMOND    MAYO-.     Statistics   and   Sociology.     New 

York,  1896.     pp.  xiv,  316. 
STIMSON,    FREDERIC   JESUP.     Labor  in   its  Relations  to  Law. 

New  York,  1895.     pp.  145. 

THWING,  CHARLES  F.     The  Family.     Boston,  1887.     pp.  213. 
WARNER,  AMOS  GRISWOLD.     American  Charities.     New  York, 

etc.,  1894.     pp.  viii,  430.     Maps  and  tables. 
WILSON,  WOODROW.     The  State.     Boston,  1898.     pp.  xxxv,  656- 

LARGER  SOCIOLOGICAL   LIBRARY. 

IN  addition  to  the  books  mentioned  above,  for  reference, 
and  especially  for  the  needs  of  large  classes  and  of  classes  in 
which  the  subject  is  to  be  carefully  studied,  the  following  books 
will  be  found  especially  useful.  Books  in  foreign  languages  are 
not  included  (unless  in  translation),  but  they  may  easily  be 
found  through  the  bibliographies.  Many  of  them  are  written 
by  persons  familiar  by  experience  at  first  hand  with  the  condi- 
tions which  they  describe,  and  are  therefore  sources.  Some 
additional  titles  may  also  be  found  in  the  bibliographies  at  the 
heads  of  the  chapters  below. 


xii         Suggestions    for    Students,    Etc. 

BALDWIN,  JAMES  MARK.  Social  and  Ethical  Interpretations  in 
Mental  Development.  New  York,  1897.  pp.  xiv,  574. 

BEMIS,  EDWARD  WEBSTER.  Municipal  Monopolies.  New  York, 
1899.  pp.  v,  691. 

BILLINGS,  JOHN  S.,  editor.  Physiological  Aspects  of  the  Liquor 
Problem  (for  Committee  of  Fifty).  2  vols.  Boston,  1902. 

BLISS,  W.  D.  P.  A  Handbook  of  Socialism.  New  York,  1895. 
pp.  viii,  291. 

BLUNTSCHLI,  JOHANN  CASPAR.  The  Theory  of  the  State.  Ox- 
ford, 1892.  pp.  xxv,  550. 

BOWKER,  RICHARD  ROGERS,  and  ILES,  GEORGE,  editors.  The 
Readers  Guide  in  Economics,  Social,  and  Political  Science. 
New  York,  etc.,  1891.  pp.  169.  (Economic  Tracts,  No.  27.) 

BROOKINGS,  W.  DuBois,  and  RINGWALT,  RALPH  CURTIS. 
Briefs  for  Debate  on  Current  Political,  Economic,  and  Social 
Topics.  New  York,  1896.  pp.  xlvii,  213. 

BRYCE,  JAMES.  The  American  Commonwealth.  New  York, 
1894.  2  vols.  pp.  xviii,  724;  vii,  904. 

CALKINS,  RAYMOND.  Substitutes  for  the  Saloon  (for  Committee 
of  Fifty).  Boston,  1901. 

Charities  and  Corrections,  Proceedings  of  the  National  Confer- 
ences. New  York  and  Boston,  1873-1899,  especially  since  1893. 

DRAHMS,  AUGUST.  The  Criminal :  His  Personnel  and  his  En- 
vironment. New  York,  1900. 

ELIOT,  CHARLES  WILLIAM.  American  Contributions  to  Civiliza- 
tion. New  York,  1897.  pp.  387. 

ELIOT  CHARLES  WILLIAM.     Educational  Reform.     New  York, 

1898.  pp.  ix,  418. 

ELY,  RICHARD  T.      Monopolies  and  Trusts.      New  York,   1900. 

pp.  xi,  278. 
FLYNT,  JOSIAH  {pseud.).     Tramping  with  Tramps.     New  York, 

1899.  pp.  xiv,  398. 

FORD,  HENRY  JONES.     Rise  and  Growth  of  American  Politics. 

New  York,  1898.     pp.  viii,  409. 
GEORGE,  HENRY.     The   Condition  of  Labor.     New  York,  1891. 

pp.  157. 
GIDDINGS,  FRANKLIN  HENRY.    The  Principles  of  Sociology.    New 

York,   1898.     pp.  xvi,  476.  —  Democracy  and  Empire.     New 

York,  1900.   pp.  363.  —  Inductive  Sociology.   New  York,  1901. 
OILMAN,  NICHOLAS  PAINE.     Profit  Sharing  between  Employer 

and  Employee.     Boston,  etc.,  1893.     pp.  x,  460. 
GLADDEN,  WASHINGTON.     Social  Facts  and  Forces.     New  York, 

etc.,  1897.     pp.  iv,  235. 


Suggestion's    for    Students,    Etc.       xiii 

GODKIN,  EDWIN  LAWRENCE.     Problems  of  Modern  Democracy. 

New  York,  1896.     pp.  332. 
GOODNOW,  FRANK  J.    Municipal  Problems.     New  York,  1897. 

pp.  xiii,  321. 
GUMPLOWICZ,  LUDWIG.     The  Outlines  of  Sociology  [trans.  F.  W. 

Moore].     Philadelphia,  1899.     PP   229- 
HENDERSON,  CHARLES  RICHMOND.     Social  Elements.     Chicago, 

1898.  pp.    x,    400.  —  Dependents,     Defectives,    Delinquents. 
Boston,  1901. 

HOFFMAN,  FREDERICK  LUDWIG.     Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of 

the  American  Negro.    New  York,  etc.,  1 896.  pp.  x,  329.    (Amer- 
ican Economic  Association,  Publications,  XI.,  Nos.  i,  2,  3.) 
JENKS,  JEREMIAH  WHIPPLE.     The  Trust  Problem.     New  York, 

1900.     pp.  281.     Charts. 
KIDD,  BENJAMIN.      Social  Evolution.      New   York,    etc.,    1898. 

pp.  ix,  404. 
KOREN,  JOHN.     The  Economic  Aspects  of  the  Liquor  Traffic  (an 

investigation  made  for  the  Committee  of  Fifty).     Boston,  1899. 

pp.  x,  327. 
LALOR,    JOHN   J.      Cyclopedia    of  Political   Science,    Political 

Economy,  and  of  the  Political  History  of  the  United  States. 

Chicago,   1884.     3  vols.     vi,  847  ;  iv,  1055;  iv,  1136. 
LAUGHLIN,  JAMES  LAURENCE.     The  Study  of  Political  Economy. 

New  York,  1885.     pp.  153. 
LLOYD,  HENRY  DEMAREST.     Labor  Copartnership.     New  York, 

etc.,  1898.     pp.  351.     Front,    and   plates.  —  Wealth    against 

Commonwealth.     New  York,  1894.     pp.  563. 
MACKENZIE,  JOHN  S.     Introduction  to  Social  Philosophy.     New 

York,  1895.     pp.  xv,  454. 
MALLOCK,  WILLIAM  HURRELL.     Classes  and  Masses.     London, 

1896.     pp.  xvi,  139. 

REINSCH,  PAUL  S.  World  Politics.  New  York,  1900.  pp.  xviii,  366. 
Rus,  JACOB  AUGUST.  Ten  Years'1  War.  Boston.  1899.  Illus.pp.  267. 
RIPLEY,  WILLIAM  ZEBINA.  The  Races  of  Europe.  New  York, 

1899.  2  vols.     pp.  xxxii,  624  ;  vii,  160. 

RUSKIN,  JOHN.  Political  Economy  of  Art.  New  York,  1860. 
pp.  ix,  125. 

SHAW,  ALBERT.  Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain.  New 
York,  1895.  pp.  viii,  385.  —  Municipal  Government  in  Conti- 
nental Europe.  New  York,  1895.  pp.  ix,  505. 

SMALL  AND  VINCENT.  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Society. 
Chicago,  1896.  pp.  xi,  398. 

SMITH,  RICHMOND  MAYO-.  Emigration  and  Immigration.  New 
York,  1890.  pp.  xiv,  316.  —  Statistics  and  Economics.  New 
York,  1899.  PP-  x"'>  467- 


xiv        Suggestions    for    Students,    Etc. 

STIMSON,  FREDERIC  JESUP.  Handbook  to  the  Labor  Laws  of  the 
United  States.  New  York,  1896.  pp.  xxii,  385. 

STUCKENBERG,  JOHN  HENRY  WILBURN.  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  Sociology.  New  York,  1898.  pp.  xii,  336. 

TARDE,  G.     Social  Laws.     New  York,  1899.     pp.  xi,  213. 

VINCENT,  EDGAR  G.  The  Social  Mind  and  Education.  New 
York,  1897.  pp.  ix,  155. 

WARD,  LESTER  FRANK.  Dynamic  Sociology.  New  York,  1897. 
2  vols.  pp.  xxix,  706 ;  vii,  690.  —  Psychic  Factors  of  Civiliza- 
tion. Boston,  1893.  pp.  xxi,  369. 

WARING,  GEORGE  EDWIN,  JR.  Report  on  the  Street-Sweeping 
Department  of  New  York.  New  York,  1896.  pp.  159. 

WASHINGTON,  BOOKER  T.  Future  of  the  American  Negro.  Bos- 
ton, 1900.  1 2  mo. 

WEBB,  SIDNEY  and  BEATRICE.  History  of  Trade  Unionism. 
London,  1894.  pp.  xvi,  558.  —  Industrial  Democracy.  Lon- 
don and  New  York,  1897.  2  vols.  pp.  xix,  452;  vii,  929. — 
Problems  of  Modern  Industry.  London,  etc,  1898. 

WEBER,  ADNA  FERRIN.  The  Growth  of  Cities  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century.  New  York,  1899.  pp.  xvi,  495. 

WELLS,  DAVID  AMES.  Recent  Economic  Changes.  New  York, 
1889.  pp.  xii,  493. 

WESTERMARCK,  EDWARD.  The  History  of  Human  Marriage. 
London,  etc.,  1891.  pp.  xix,  644. 

WHITNEY,  H.  C.     Marriage  and  Divorce.     Philadelphia,    1895. 

PP-  377- 
WILLOUGHBY,  WESTEL  WOODBURY.     An  Examination  of  the 

Nature  of  the  State.     New  York,  etc.,  1896.     pp.  ix,  448. 
WILLOUGHBY,  WILLIAM  FRANKLIN.     Workingmerfs  Insurance. 

New  York,  etc.  [1898].     pp.  xii,  386. 
WINES,  FREDERICK  HOWARD.     Punishment  and  Reformation. 

New  York,  etc.  [1895].     pp.  ix,  339. 
WINES,  FREDERICK  HOWARD,  and  KOREN,  JOHN.     The  Liquor 

Problem  in  its  Legislative  Aspects.     Boston,  etc.,  1897.     pp. 

vi,  342. 

WOOLSEY,  THEODORE  DWIGHT.     Divorce  and  Divorce  Legisla- 
tion.    New  York,  1882.     pp.  x,  328. 
WRIGHT,  CARROLL  DAVIDSON.     The  Industrial  Evolution  of  the 

United  States.     Meadville,  etc.,  1895.     New  York,  1900.     pp. 

362.     Maps,  portraits,  and  woodcuts. 
WYCKOFF,  WALTER   AUGUSTUS.     The   Workers.      (The    East.) 

New  York,  1897.     pp.  ix,  270.—  The  Workers.     (The  West.) 

New  York,  1898.     pp.  ix,  378. 


Suggestions  for  Students,  Etc.         xv 


SOURCES  OF   INFORMATION   ON   SOCIOLOGY. 

THROUGHOUT  the  work  the  author  has  made  constant  refer- 
ence to  official  and  unofficial  collections  of  ultimate  material ; 
and  it  will  probably  be  found  an  excellent  exercise  in  any 
class  to  have  each  student  carefully  study  at  least  one  subject 
from  such  material,  in  order  to  familiarise  himself  with  the 
methods  of  ascertaining  the  truth  upon  contested  points.  De- 
tailed discussion  of  the  government  publications  will  be  found 
in  Carroll  D.Wright's  Contributions  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment to  Social  Science.  E.  C.  Lunt's  Key  to  the  Publications 
of  the  United  States  Census  is  a  carefully  classified  guide  to 
the  special  tables  and  discussions  in  all  the  publications  of 
the  census  from  1790  through  1880.  The  census  volumes 
and  the  various  reports  of  the  government  bureaus,  especially 
those  of  the  Department  of  Labour,  of  which  Colonel  Wright 
is  Commissioner,  may  usually  be  had  by  schools  and  investi- 
gators through  the  senators  from  their  States  or  the  members 
of  Congress  from  their  districts.  The  twelfth  census,  of  1900, 
is  distributed  in  like  manner. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  a  few  serviceable  and  available 
sources : — 

GILDER,  RICHARD  WATSON.  Report  of  the  Tenement  House 
Committee  of  1894.  New  York,  1894.  pp.649. 

ILLINOIS  BUREAU  OF  LABOR  STATISTICS.  Biennial  Reports. 
Springfield,  1881-  . 

MASSACHUSETTS  BOARD  TO  INVESTIGATE  THE  SUBJECT  OF 
THE  UNEMPLOYED.  Report.  5  pts.  in  i  vol.  Boston,  1895. 
(House  Doc.  No.  50.) 

MASSACHUSETTS  BUREAU  OF  STATISTICS  OF  LABOR.  Annual 
Reports.  Boston,  1870-  . 

NATIONAL  CONFERENCE  OF  CHARITIES  AND  CORRECTION. 
Proceedings  (annual).  Boston,  etc.,  1874-  • 

NEW  JERSEY  BUREAU  OF  STATISTICS  OF  LABOR  AND  INDUS- 
TRIES. Annual  Reports.  Trenton,  1878-  . 

NEW  YORK  BUREAU  OF  STATISTICS  OF  LABOR.  Annual  Re- 
ports. Albany  and  New  York,  1884-  • 


xvi        Suggestions   for   Students,   Etc. 

UNITED  STATES  CENSUS  BUREAU. 

Report  on  Crime,  Pauperism,  and  Benevolence  at  the  Eleventh 
Census.  Frederick  H.  Wines,  special  agent.  2  parts.  Wash- 
ington, 1895,  1896.  pp.  v,  41 1  ;  x,  1035. 

Report  on  the  Factory  System  of  the  United  States,  by  Carroll 
D.  Wright,  in  Report  on  Manufactures  at  the  Tenth  Census. 
Washington,  1883.  pp.  78. 

Report  on  Manufacturing  Industries  at  the  Twelfth  Census. 
2  parts.  Washington,  1902. 

Report  on  Population  at  the  Twelfth  Census.     2  parts.     Wash- 
ington, 1901-2. 
UNITED  STATES  COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR  (WITH  W.  C.  HUNT). 

History  and  Growth  of  United  States  Census.      Washington, 

1900. 
UNITED  STATES  COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR. 

First  Annual  Report :  Industrial  Depressions.  Washington, 
1886. 

Second  Annual  Report :  Convict  Labor.     Washington,  1887. 

Fourth  Annual  Report:  Working  Women  in  Large  Cities. 
Washington,  1889. 

Eighth  Annual  Report :  Industrial  Education.  Washington, 
1893. 

Eleventh  Annual  Report :  Work  and  Wages  of  Men,  Women, 
and  Children.  Washington,  1897. 

Twelfth  Annual  Report :  Economic  Aspects  of  the  Liquor  Prob- 
lem. Washington,  1898. 

Thirteenth  Annual  Report :  Hand  and  Machine  Labor.  Wash- 
ington, 1898. 

Fourteenth  Annual  Report :  Water,  Gas,  and  Electric  Light 
Plants  under  Private  and  Municipal  Ownership.  Washing- 
ton, 1899. 

Fifteenth  Annual  Report:  Wages  in  Commercial  Countries. 
Washington,  1900. 

Sixteenth  Annual  Report :  Strikes  and  Lockouts  (Jan.  i,  1881, 
to  Dec.  31,  1900).  Washington,  1901. 

Seventeenth  Annual  Report:  Trade  Schools.  Washington, 
1902. 

First  Special  Report :  Marriage  and  Divorce.  Washington, 
1891. 

Second  Special  Report:  Labor  Laws  of  the  United  States. 
Washington,  1896. 


Suggestions  for  Students,  Etc.        xvii 

UNITED  STATES  COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR. 
Fourth  Special  Report :    Compulsory  Insurance  in  Germany. 

Washington,  1893. 
Fifth  Special  Report :  The  Gothenburg  System  of  Liquor  Traffic. 

Washington,  1893. 
Seventh  Special  Report:    The  Slums   of  Baltimore,    Chicago 

New  York,  and  Philadelphia.     Washington,  1894. 
Eighth  Special  Report :   The  Housing  of  the  Working  People. 

Washington,  1895. 
Ninth  Special  Report :   The  Italians  in  Chicago.     Washington, 

1897. 
UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE,  DIVISION  OF 

CHEMISTRY.     Foods  and  Food  Adulterants.     (Various  Bulle- 
tins.)    Washington,  1887- 
UNITED  STATES  INDUSTRIAL  COMMISSION.     Vols.  1-19,  1901-2. 

PERIODICALS. 

THE  following  periodicals  contain  material  on  sociological 
subjects,  and  should  be  on  file  in  any  efficient  library  of  the 
subject :  — 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science, 

Philadelphia,  1890-     . 

American  Journal  of  Sociology.     Chicago,  1895-     . 
American  Monthly  Review  of  Reviews.    New  York,  1890-     .    (To 

June,  1897,  called  The  Review  of  Reviews,  American,  edition.) 
Arena.     Boston,  1890-     . 
Bibliotheca  Sacra.     Oberlin,  1884-     . 
Charities  Review.     New  York,  1892-  . 
Chautauquan.     Meadville,  1880-  . 

Department  of  Labor,  bi-monthly  Bulletin.     Washington,  1896-  . 
Econojnic  Review.     London,  1891-  . 
Forum.     New  York,  1886-     . 

Independent.     [In  magazine  form.]     New  York,  1897-    . 
Journal  of  Political  Economy .     Chicago,  1892-     . 
Journal  of  Social  Science.     New  York  and  Boston,  1869-     .    [Re 

port  of  Meetings  of  American  Social  Science  Association.] 
Municipal  Affairs.     New  York,  1897-     . 
New  World.     Boston,  etc.,  1892-     . 
Outlook.     [In  magazine  form.]     New  York,  1897-     . 
Political  Science  Quarterly.     Boston,  etc..  1886-     . 
Quarterly  Journal  of  F.conomics.     Boston,  1887-    - 
Yale  Review.     New  Haven,  1890-     . 


Contents. 


Part  I. 


THE   BASIS    OF   PRACTICAL   SOCIOLOGY. 

INTRODUCTION Ix 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  SCIENCE  OF  SOCIAL  RELATION. 

1.  References i 

2.  The  Science  of  Social  Relation I 

3.  Practical  Sociology 6 

4.  Spirit  of  Sociological  Inquiry 7 

5.  The  National  Census 9 

6.  Other  National  Collections  of  Sociological  Material      .  n 

7.  State  and  Private  Collections  of  Sociological  Material  .  16 

8.  Monographs  and  Single  Studies 19 

II.  THE  POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

9.  References 21 

10.  Total  Population  and  Rate  of  Increase 21 

n.  Rate  of  Increase  by  Sections 24 

12.  The  Centre  of  Population 26 

13.  Distribution  by  Drainage 27 

14.  Distribution  by  Natural  Features .  28 

15.  Distribution  by  Altitude 29 

16.  Distribution  by  Rainfall,  Temperature,  and  Humidity  .  30 

III.  THE  STATUS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

17.  References 33 

18.  The  Proportions  of  the  Sexes 33 

19.  Distribution  by  Ages 36 

20.  Families 4° 

21.  Proportion  of  Families  and  Inmates  to  Dwellings      .     .  41 

22.  Dwellings  in  Cities 44 


xx                             Contents.                   Part  I.,  n. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

IV.  NATIVE  AND  FOREIGN  BORN. 

23.  References 46 

24.  Number  and  Nationality  of  Immigrants 46 

25.  Relative  Immigration  of  Various  Races 49 

26.  Nativity  of  Living  Population 52 

27.  Geographical  Distribution  of  Native  and  Foreign  Born  53 

28.  Races 55 

29.  Geographical  Distribution  of  Races 56 

30.  Parent  Nativity 59 

31.  Population  according  to  Colour 60 

32.  Internal  Migrations 63 


Part  II. 

UNITS   OF   ORGANISATION. 

V.  SOCIAL  UNITS. 

33.  References 65 

34.  Tendency  to  Association 66 

35.  The  Family 67 

36.  Size  of  Families 68 

37.  The  Integrity  of  the  Family 70 

38.  The  Church 72 

39.  Church  Government 75 

40.  Secular  Societies 76 

41.  Patriotic  Societies 79 

42.  Clubs So 

43.  Benevolent  Associations 82 

44.  Labour  Organisations 83 

45.  Legal  Obligations  of  Social  Units 86 

46.  The  Influence  of  Societies 86 

VI.   POLITICAL  UNITS. 

47.  References 88 

48.  The  State 88 

49.  Sovereignty 90 

50.  Ordinary  Units  of  Government 90 

51.  Local  Political  Units  in  the  United  States 91 

52.  The  Town  or  Township 93 

53.  The  County 95 

54.  The  City 96 


Fart  II.,  III.  Contents. 


xxi 


CHAPTER  PACK 
VI.   POLITICAL  UNITS  (continued). 

55.  The  State  in  the  Union 97 

56.  Territories  and  New  States 99 

57.  The  National  Government 100 

58.  Political  Parties 102 

59.  Public  Opinion 103 


Part  III. 


QUESTIONS    OF   POPULATION. 

VII.  IMMIGRATION. 

60.  References 105 

61.  Religious  and  Political  Distribution  of  Immigrants    .     .  105 

62.  Industrial  Distribution  of  Immigrants 106 

63.  Immigration  and  Illiteracy 108 

64.  Restrictive  Laws  on  Immigration no 

65.  Relation  of  Immigration  to  Increase  of  Population  .     .  112 

VIII.   URBAN  AND  RURAL  POPULATION. 

66.  References 115 

67.  Statistics  of  Urban  and  Rural  Population 115 

68.  Apprehension  from  Alleged  Congestion  of  Cities  .     .     .  117 

69.  Redistribution  of  City  Population 119 

70.  Density  of  Urban  Population 123 

71.  Vital  Statistics  of  Cities       124 

IX.   SPECIAL  PROBLEMS  OF  CITY  LIFE. 

72.  References 125 

73.  Water- Works 126 

74.  Lighting  of  Cities 127 

75.  Streets  and  Sewers 129 

76.  The  Police 132 

77.  Wages  under  Public  and  Private  Contract 133 

78.  Rapid  Transit 134 

79.  The  Question  of  Municipal  Ownership 139 

80.  The  Slum  Question 142 

81.  Housing  of  the  Poor 144 

82.  Rented  Houses 147 

83.  Public  Baths 148 

84.  Market  Systems  in  Relation  to  Cost  of  Living  ....  149 


xxii  Contents.  Part  iv. 

Part  IV. 

QUESTIONS   OF    THE   FAMILY. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 
X.   MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE. 

85.  References 151 

86.  The  Married  and  the  Single 151 

87.  Marriages  Compared  by  Races 154 

88.  The  Contract  Theory  of  Marriage i  ^5 

89.  Solemnisation  of  Marriage 156 

90.  The  Annulment  of  Marriage 159 

91.  Divorce 160 

92.  State  and  Federal  Relations  of  Marriage  and  Divorce   .  163 

93.  Statistics  of  Divorce 164 

94.  Legal  Causes  of  Divorce 166 

95.  Duration  of  Married  Life 166 

96.  Migration  for  Purpose  of  Divorce  :  Children      ....  167 

97.  The  Evolution  of  Divorce 168 

98.  The  Reasons  for  Divorce 170 

99.  Reformation  of  Divorce 173 

XI.  EDUCATION. 

100.  References 177 

101.  The  Duty  of  Education 177 

102.  The  Kindergarten,  a  School  for  Youngest  Pupils  .     .     .  180 

103.  Growth  of  the  Public-School  System 183 

104.  The  Public-School  System  below  the  High  School     .     .  185 

105.  The  American  High  School 186 

1 06.  The  Normal  School 188 

107.  Imperfections  of  the  Public-School  System 189 

108.  Compulsory  Education 191 

109.  Industrial  Education 193 

no.  Manual-Training  Schools 195 

in.  Trade  and  Technical  Schools 199 

112.  Results  of  Technical  Education 203 

113.  Colleges  and  Universities    .     .     . 205 

XII.  EMPLOYMENT  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN. 

114.  References 208 

115.  Influence  of  Factories  on  Employment  of  Women  and 

Children 208 

116.  The  Influence  of  Law 210 

117.  Occupations  of  Women 212 

118.  Number  of  Children  employed 214 


Part  IV.,  V.  Contents.  xxiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.   EMPLOYMENT  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  (continued}. 

119.  Wages  of  Women  and  Children 215 

120.  Reasons  for  Low  Wages  paid  Women 217 

121.  Moral  Character  of  Working  Women 218 

122.  Employment  of  Married  Women 222 


Part  V. 

THE    LABOUR   SYSTEM. 

XIII.  OLD  AND  NEW  SYSTEMS  OF  LABOUR. 

123.  References 223 

124.  Employment 224 

125.  Are  Money  Wages  increasing? 227 

126.  The  General  Increase  in  Wages 232 

127.  Cost  of  Living -234 

128.  Hours  of  Labour 238 

129.  Sunday  Labour 240 

130.  The  Unemployed 242 

131.  The  Tramp 245 

132.  The  Sweating  System      .' 246 

133.  General  Benefits  to  Society  of  the  New  System  of  Labour  249 

XIV.  APPLIANCES  OF  THE  MODERN  LABOUR  SYSTEM. 

134.  References 250 

135.  The  Effect  of  Machinery 250 

136.  Proportions  of  Skilled  and  Unskilled  Labour    ....  253 

137.  Does  the  Use  of  Machinery  degrade  Labour?   ....  256 

138.  Machinery  and  New  Industries 256 

139.  The  Saving  of  Human  Labour  by  Machinery    ....  260 

140.  The  Inspection  of  Factories  and  Workshops    ....  262 

141.  Employers'  Liability 265 

142.  Legislation  affecting  the  Employer's  Liability    ....  267 

143.  Compulsory  Insurance  of  Workingmen 269 

XV.   RELATIONS  OF  EMPLOYER  AND  EMPLOYEE. 

144.  References 271 

145.  Personal  Relations 271 

146.  Relations  with  Unions    .... 274 

147.  Co-operation 277 

148.  Profit-Sharing 281 

149.  State  Regulation 285 


xxiv  Contents.                  Part  v.,  vi. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI.  QUESTIONS  RELATING  TO  STRIKES  AND  LOCKOUTS. 

150.  References          287 

151.  Nature  of  Strikes  and  Lockouts 287 

152.  Causes  of  Strikes  and  Lockouts 290 

153.  Cost  of  Strikes  and  Lockouts 293 

154.  Number  of  Persons  involved  in  Strikes 294 

155.  Industrial  Conciliation 294 

156.  Industrial  Arbitration 297 

157.  Boycotts 300 

158.  Injunctions 302 

159.  Conspiracy 305 


Part  VI. 

SOCIAL   WELL-BEING. 

XVII.  THE  ACCUMULATION  OF  WEALTH. 

1 60.  References 307 

161.  Sociological  View  of  Wealth 307 

162.  Earnings  and  Wealth 309 

163.  Individual  Wealth 311 

164.  Savings  Institutions 313 

165.  Building  and  Loan  Associations 316 

166.  Insurance  and  Mutual  Benefit  Associations 318 

XVIII.   POVERTY. 

167.  References 322 

168.  Causes  of  Poverty 322 

169.  Pauperism  and  Relief 324 

170.  Organised  Charities 327 

171.  Child-Saving 329 

XIX.   THE  RELATION  OF  ART  TO  SOCIAL  WELL-BEING. 

172.  References 331 

173.  Art  and  Ethics 331 

174.  Art  and  Industry 332 

175.  Art  and  the  People 334 

176.  Art  and  Social  Unrest 336 

177.  Art  in  Invention 337 

178.  Art  as  a  Source  of  Wealth 339 

179.  Public  Art 340 

180.  The  Effect  of  Ugliness 341 


Part  VI.,  vii.  Contents.  xxv 

CHAPTER  PAGE 
XX.   ARE    THE    RICH    GROWING    RICHER,    AND    THE    POOR 
POORER  ? 

181.  References 343 

182.  Industry  and  Wealth       343 

183.  Wealth  not  Stationary 345 

184.  Use  of  Wealth 347 

185.  Effects  of  Modern  Competition 348 


Part  VII. 


THE    DEFENCE   OF   SOCIETY. 

XXI.  CRIMINOLOGY. 

186    References 350 

187.  Crime 350 

188.  Is  there  an  Increase  or  Decrease  in  Crime?       ....  352 

189.  The  Statistical  Method  applied  to  Penology      ....  355 

190.  Effect  of  Local  Conditions  on  Crime 357 

191.  Crime  in  Great  Britain,  etc 359 

192.  Causes  of  Crime 360 

193.  Economic  Conditions  in  Relation  to  Crime 362 

194.  How  to  prevent  Crime 364 

195.  Crime  and  the  Labour  Problem 366 

XXII.  THE  PUNISHMENT  OF  CRIME. 

196.  References 371 

197.  Classification  of  Punishment 371 

198.  Lynchings 374 

199.  Prison  Labour  and  the  Reformation  of  Convicts  .     .     .  378 

200.  The  Ethics  of  Prison  Labour 381 

201.  Systems  of  Prison  Labour 382 

202.  Solution  of  the  Prison  Labour  Question 385 

XXIII.   THE  TEMPERANCE  QUESTION. 

203.  References 390 

204.  Production  and  Consumption 390 

205.  Public  Revenue  from  the  Liquor  Traffic 393 

206.  Prohibition 395 

207.  License 396 

208.  Local  Option 397 

209.  Systems  of  State  Account 398 

210.  The  Influence  of  Intemperance  upon  Crime       ....  400 


xxvi  Contents.  Part  vn.,  vm. 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

XXIII.  THE  TEMPERANCE  QUESTION  (continued). 

211.  Intemperance  and  Pauperism 402 

212.  A  Study  of  the  Temperauce  Question 402 

XXIV.  REGULATION  OF  ORGANISATIONS. 

213.  References 404 

214.  Political  Organisations 404 

215.  Corporations 406 

216.  Trusts 411 

217.  Labour  Organisations 414 


Part  VIII. 


REMEDIES. 

XXV.   SOLUTIONS  THAT  ARE  PROPOSED  FOR  SOCIAL  AND  ECO- 
NOMIC DIFFICULTIES. 

218.  References 417 

219.  Basis  of  Problems 418 

220.  Minor  Legislative  Remedies 419 

221.  Remedies  by  Voluntary  Agreement 420 

222.  Remedy  of  the  Socialist 421 

.223.  What  is  the  Social  Problem  ? 423 


Maps  and  Diagrams. 


xxvn 


MAPS   AND   DIAGRAMS 

PAGES 

Diagrams  showing  the  Population  of  each  State  and 

Territory  at  each  Census,     (i,  2,  3,  and  4)     ...  Between  22,  23 

Map  showing  the  Position  of  the  Centre  of  Population 

at  the  close  of  each  decade  from  1790  to  1900  .     .  To  face        26 

Map  of  Topographic  Regions ,,  28 

Diagram   showing    Number    of    Inhabitants    to   the 

Square  Mile,  by  States  and  Territories      ....  „  29 

Diagram  showing  Proportion  of  Sexes,  by  Ages  and 

Nativity „  33 

Diagram   showing    Proportion    of    Aliens   to    Total 

Eoreign  Born  Males  of  Voting  Age  in  each  Speci- 
fied Nativity,  1900 „  39 

Diagram  showing  Foreign  Born  Population,  by  States 

and  Territories,  1900 ,,  47 

Diagram   showing    Foreign    Born    of  each    Leading 

Nationality  at  each  Census,  1850  to  1900  ....  „  52 

Diagram  showing  Constituents  of  the  Population  of 

States  and  Territories,  1900 ,,  53 

Diagram  and  Table  showing   Proportion  of  Foreign 

Born  of  each  Leading  Nationality,  by  States  and 

Territories,  1900 „        56,  57 

Diagram  showing  Negro  Population,  by  States  and 

Territories,  1900 ,,  61 

Diagram  showing  Composition  of  the   Population  of 

States  and  Territories,  including  Resident  Natives, 

Native   Immigrants,   and   Foreign  Born,  with  per 

cent  of  Native  Emigrants,  1900 „  63 

Diagram  showing  Total  and  Urban  Population,  by 

States  and  Territories,  1900 „  114 

Diagram  showing  Proportion    of  Urban   Population 

to  Total  Population,  by  States  and  Territories,  at 

each  Census ,,  116 

Diagram  showing  Total  Population  of  Great  Cities 

at  each  Census „  117 

Diagram  showing  the  Constituents  of  the  Population 

of  Cities  of  more  than  100,000  Inhabitants,  1900    .  „  118 

Diagram  showing  Conjugal  Condition  of  the  Popula- 
tion by  Age  and  Sex,  in  Proportions  of  the  Total 
Number  of  each  age  group,  1900 „  152 


Outline  of  Practical  Sociology 


THE  larger  social  phenomena  —  those  which  interest  the 
speculative  philosopher,  and  with  which  sociology  has  dealt 
successfully,  are  phenomena  of  social  aggregates,  or  masses 
of  men  regarded  as  single  bodies;  the  smaller  phenomena  — 
those  which  interest  the  practical  man,  and  with  which  so- 
ciology has  dealt  unsuccessfully  —  are  essentially  the  phe- 
nomena not  of  social  aggregates,  but  of  various  parts  of 
aggregates. 

W.  H.  MALLOCK:  Aristocracy  and  Evolution,  p.  14. 


Outline  of  Practical  Sociology. 


Part   I. 

The  Basis  of  Practical  Sociology. 


CHAPTER   I. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  SCIENCE  OF  SOCIAL  RELATION. 
1.  References. 

Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology,  and  First  Principles ;  Lester 
F.  Ward,  Dynamic  Sociology,  The  Psychic  Factors  of  Civilization,  and  Out- 
line of  Sociology ;  Franklin  H.  Giddings,  The  Elements  of  Sociology,  The 
Principles  of  Sociology,  The  Province  of  Sociology,  and  The  Theory  of 
Sociology  (the  last  two  in  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social 
Science,  Annals')  ;  Small  and  Vincent,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of 
Society;  Frank  W.  Blackmar,  The  Study  of  History  and  Sociology  ;  Rich- 
mond Mayo-Smith,  Statistics  and  Sociology  ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Contribu- 
tions of  the  United  States  Government  to  Social  Science  (in  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  November,  1895) ;  W.  H.  Mallock,  Aristocracy  and 
Evolution,  book  i.  ch.  I ;  W.  D.  P.  Bliss,  The  Encydopcedia  of  Social  Re- 
form ;  W.  H.  Tolman  and  W.  I.  Hull,  Hand-book  of  Sociological  Infor- 
mation; J.  H.  W.  Stuckenberg,  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Sociology ; 
H.  S.  Nash,  Genesis  of  the  Social  Conscience  ;  Gabriel  Tarde,  Social  Logic  ; 
J.  M.  Baldwin,  Social  and  Ethical  Interpretations  in  Mental  Development; 
Charles  Richmond  Henderson,  Social  Elements,  and  The  Social  Spirit  in 
America;  J.  S.  Mackenzie,  Introduction  to  Social  Philosophy ;  J.  W. 
Powell,  Sociology,  or  the  Science  of  Institutions  (in  American  Anthropolo- 
gist, N.  S.  vol.  T,  July  and  October,  1899)  ;  Annals  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science  ;  American  Journal  of  Sociology ; 
Arthur  Fairbanks,  An  Introduction  to  Sociology ;  R.  R.  Bowker  and 
George  lies,  The  Reader's  Guide  in  Economic,  Social,  and  Political  Sci- 
ence (1891)  ;  Henry  Matson,  References  for  Literary  Workers  (1898). 

2.  The  Science  of  Social  Relation. 

The  science  of  social  relation  is  really  the  science  of  the 
institutions  which  enable  society  to  perform  its  infinitely  varied 
functions.  Every  feature  of  society  which  comprehends  the 


2  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  2 

action  of  a  group  of  individual  units  represents  an  institution  ; 
and  this  is  true  without  regard  to  the  theory  which  may  be 
adopted  to  account  for  the  origin  and  development  of  society 
itself;  for  whatever  that  origin,  the  family,  the  tribe,  the  na- 
tion, and  any  intermediate  organisations  having  the  purpose  of 
regulation,  government,  or  defence,  are  all  institutions  created 
by  individuals  in  their  relations  to  each  other.  So  customs,  laws, 
habits,  religions,  etc.,  are  institutions  in  a  sociological  sense. 

The  science  which  has  been  called  sociology  comprehends 
the  study  of  the  origin  and  development  of  these  institutions, 
and  as  a  study  it  must  have  existed  since  the  intelligence  of 
man  was  developed  to  such  an  extent  as  to  inspire  him  with 
the  desire  to  account  for  his  origin  and  for  the  institutions 
with  which  he  finds  himself  surrounded.  The  attempt  to  ac- 
count for  human  environment  has  ever  been  an  attractive  study, 
and  many  theories  have  been  put  forward  as  a  basis  for  estab- 
lishing a  connected  and  logical  system.  Sociology  embraces 
the  study  of  society  in  the  entire  range  of  its  history ;  it  is 
therefore  a  more  comprehensive  word  than  social  science. 
We  speak  of  "  the  social  sciences,"  meaning  thereby  history, 
jurisprudence,  political  economy,  criminology,  penology,  and 
various  other  departments  of  knowledge  relating  to  social  con- 
ditions ;  but  we  cannot  say  "  sociologies,"  for  sociology  is  a 
concrete  term,  comprehending  all  the  social  sciences  and 
every  other  phase  of  knowledge  which  relates  to  society  in 
its  organisation  and  its-  functions. 

To  make  clear  the  origin  and  purpose  of  society,  sociologists 
have  sought  to  establish  suggestive  analogies,  the  most  plausible 
till  recent  times  being  the  biological  analogy,  under  which 
society  is  regarded  as  a  growth  like  the  cellular  expansion  of 
organised  plants  and  animals ;  so  that  society  was  looked 
upon  as  having  life,  in  the  broadest  sense,  — that  is,  not  merely 
human  and  animal  life,  but  organised  existence.  It  was  very 
natural  that  men  should  adopt  this  biological  or  materialistic 
theory  for  the  origin  and  development  of  society  ;  but  it  did 
not  meet  the  conditions ;  hence  the  attempt  has  been  made 
to  find  other  bases  or  explanations  of  society;  and  in  this 


§  aj  Science  of  Social  Relation.  3 

attempt,  feeling,  desire,  and  aspiration  have  been  recognised 
as  inherent  and  potent  factors  in  the  science. 

Just  how  the  organisation  of  society  first  became  conscious 
of  itself  is  also  a  moot  question.  Perhaps  next  after  the  crea- 
tion of  the  units  or  individuals  which  make  up  the  integral 
members  of  society  the  family  appeared  as  the  first  form  of 
institutional  construction ;  perhaps  tribal  or  even  more  highly 
developed  institutions  may  have  preceded  the  family  in  the 
order  of  time.  The  institutions  of  savage  tribes  show  that  in 
some  cases  when  individuals  become  attracted  to  each  other 
from  any  motive  whatever,  they  seek  organisation  for  purposes 
of  defence  or  otherwise,  and  live  in  this  condition  for  cen- 
turies and  ages  before  the  male  and  female  are  so  firmly  at- 
tracted through  psychic  forces  as  to  constitute  the  family. 
Until  the  idea  of  the  supremacy  of  the  family  institution  is 
firmly  fixed,  the  children  are  in  such  cases  the  wards  of  the 
tribe  or  community.  Even  at  the  present  time,  as  all  through 
the  historical  development  of  nations,  there  is  still  a  strong 
effort  visible  to  bring  the  children  under  community  influences 
and  to  lessen  or  even  to  destroy  the  control  of  the  family. 
Nor  can  it  be  safely  said  that  the  tribe  is  the  earliest  form  of 
society  ;  there  may  have  been  great  aggregations  of  individuals 
conforming  to  some  crude  methods  of  organisation  even  before 
the  specific  institution  of  tribes.  The  objections  to  the  bio- 
logical or  materialistic  theory  of  a  gradual  development  from 
individuals  to  families,  thence  to  tribes,  and  thence  to  higher 
forms,  have  led  most  sociologists  to  prefer  a  psychological  ex- 
planation of  the  process  under  which  society  has  been 
developed. 

The  word  "sociology"  occurs  for  the  first  time  in  the 
vork  of  Auguste  Comte,  entitled  "  Cours  de  Philosophic 
Positive,"  which  was  published  in  1842.  Since  that  time 
there  have  been  very  many  students  and  writers  of  the  phi- 
losophy which  he  advanced  and  formulated,  and  there  has 
been  under  them  a  constant  development  not  only  in  the 
theory  underlying  the  organisation  of  society,  but  in  the  treat- 


4  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  2 

ment  of  social  relations.  Under  this  development  the  claim 
that  society  is  an  organism  on  the  biological  analogy  is  not 
now  generally  admitted  to  be  sound ;  for  if  an  organism 
society  must  have  something  in  it  other  than  the  ethical  and 
social  relations  of  men  ;  it  would  possess  parts  and  functions 
independent  of  human  relations.  Hence  in  the  more  modern 
theory,  the  actual  conditions  of  human  nature,  of  human  wants- 
and  aspirations,  are  allotted  more  power  in  shaping  the  ex- 
planation of  society  than  the  restricted  idea  that  society  is  of 
itself  a  self-shaping  organism.  It  is  now  asserted,  and  gen- 
erally conceded,  that  it  is  the  recognition  of  the  "  psyche,"  or 
soul,  which  gives  the  truest  understanding  or  even  interpreta- 
tion of  sociological  phenomena.  We  may  recognise  all  the 
advantages  which  come  from  the  comparison  of  the  growth  of 
society  through  the  materialistic  theory ;  we  may  accept  the 
aid  it  gives  in  the  adjustment  and  classification  of  facts ;  but 
the  conception  of  organic  growth  does  not  give  us  full  enough 
insight  into  the  real  forces  which  make  society  what  it  is,  nor 
furnish  us  a  sufficient  understanding  of  the  forces  which  made 
it  in  the  beginning.  We  must  recognise  human  thoughts  and 
feelings  as  well  as  the  propensities  which  serve  to  bring  in- 
dividual units  into  institutional  relations. 

A  brief  statement  of  the  point  of  view  of  some  of  the 
modern  writers  will  perhaps  bring  out  the  contrast  between 
the  old  sociology  and  the  new.  The  French  writer,  Professor 
Gabriel  Tarde,  finds  the  motive  at  the  basis  of  all  human 
organisations  in  the  imitative  tendency,  the  desire  of  men  to 
be  like  each  other.  In  "  The  Philosophy  of  History,"  by  Dr. 
George  Simmel,  of  Berlin,  the  biological  analogy  is  left  out  of 
consideration,  and  the  assumption  is  made  that  psychology  is 
the  a  priori  of  historical  science,  or  that  the  power  which  has 
brought  men  into  combination  with  each  other  in  the  varied 
forms  of  institutional  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  psychical 
nature  of  man.  In  our  own  country,  Professor  Lester  F. 
Ward  insists  that  psychology  and  not  biology  offers  the  true 
explanation  of  human  society,-  and  that  the  motive  force 


§  2]  Science  of  Social  Relation.  5 

which  impels  men  to  social  institution  is  found  in  the  feelings 
of  men  taken  collectively  and  in  the  intuitive  faculty ;  the 
effective  agent  of  social  action,  according  to  Professor  Ward, 
resides  in  the  feelings,  and  Professor  F.  H.  Giddings  reaches 
the  conclusion  that  the  motive  which  draws  men  together  is 
the  "consciousness  of  kind," — the  feeling  which  men  have 
that  they  are  one  in  nature  with  each  other  and  of  the  same 
kin.  Another  writer,  Professor  J.  M.  Baldwin,  follows  the 
same  line,  only  he  develops  the  psychical  analogy  to  still 
greater  degree.  All  these  assumptions,  which  undoubtedly  go 
farthest  to  account  for  society,  can  be  stated  in  the  old  axiom 
that  "  men  who  think  alike  will  act  together." 

The  authorities  just  mentioned  and  many  others  are  develop- 
ing the  real  science  of  society,  for  they  recognise  far  more 
than  did  the  earlier  writers  the  real  human  side,  consisting  of 
feeling,  thought,  aspiration,  religious  emotion,  —  everything,  in 
fact,  which  can  by  any  expansion  of  terms  constitute  the 
purest  ethics.  These  considerations  make  it  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult to  define  in  plain  terms  the  word  "  sociology,"  or  to  give 
exactly  its  comprehensive  scope.  "Sociology"  will  not  reach 
the  perfect  scientific  formula  so  long  as  able  and  conscientious 
students  and  writers  fail  to  agree  as  to  the  fundamental  truths 
underlying  the  science  ;  they  are  beginning  to  agree,  but  even 
in  their  definitions  this  much  may  be  accepted,  that  although 
animals  mate  and  are  gregarious  in  their  habits,  they  have  no 
institutions.  It  is  not  until  the  highly  developed  animal,  man, 
appears,  with  heart  and  soul,  or  those  attributes  which  may 
be  called  spiritual,  that  organisation  is  resorted  to  as  the  ex- 
pression of  the  social  instincts.  It  is  in  this  thought  that  the 
true  province  of  sociology  lies.  As  a  result  of  critical  study, 
it  will  appear  eventually  that  many  of  the  problems  which  vex 
us  now  are  but  the  results  of  evolutionary  processes  in  the 
formation  of  society ;  that  they  are  not  the  beginnings  of 
more  serious  problems,  but  present  phases  of  questions  that 
have  existed  from  the  foundation  of  society.  All  the  facts  to 
be  gathered  from  the  history  of  man,  covering  his  experiences 


6  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  2 

in  the  varied  complications  of  life  and  under  an  infinite 
variety  of  conditions,  are  necessary  in  order  to  arrive  at  com- 
plete and  scientific  conclusions.  Such  conclusions  will  be  the 
more  speedily  reached  through  the  present  recognition  of 
the  psychic  forces  as  the  fundamental  basis  of  society. 

3.   Practical  Sociology. 

These  considerations  relative  to  the  development  of  the 
science  of  social  relation  call  for  some  explanation  as  to  the 
use  of  the  term  "  practical  sociology."  Sociology, —  broadly 
speaking,  and  without  any  attempt  at  specific  definition, — 
being  the  science  of  society,  must  comprehend  all  society  and 
society  for  all  time,  for  it  undertakes  to  explain  the  origin  and 
growth  and  condition  of  human  institutions.  Any  treatment 
of  the  subject  would  be  "  practical  "  which  dealt  with  things 
as  they  are,  but  the  term  may  with  propriety  be  applied 
especially  to  such  a  book  as  this,  which  undertakes  to  consider 
only  the  status  of  present-day  conditions,  without  attempting 
to  show  how  far  they  may  be  the  result  of  the  development 
or  evolution  of  many  previous  conditions,  and  without  at- 
tempting to  show  all  their  relations  to  the  general  subject 
of  sociology.  The  word  "practical  "  is  not  chosen  as  in  con- 
tradistinction to  "  impractical,"  but  to  make  clear  that  the 
book  deals  with  actual,  pressing  social  questions,  which  may 
be  understood,  even  though  the  science  of  sociology  be  still 
uncertain.  To  be  sure,  the  study  of  sociology  as  a  science 
must  include  all  the  questions  considered  in  this  work,  but  it 
must  include  also  systems  of  classification  and  analyses  which 
"practical  sociology  "  may  avoid  by  dealing  with  indisputable 
facts  and  conditions  which  in  a  scientific  treatise  of  sociology 
would  be  only  illustrations.  Were  the  science  much  further 
developed  than  it  now  is,  there  would  perhaps  still  be  a  place 
for  a  discussion  which  avoids  technical  terms  and  philoso- 
phical analysis.  One  may  know  that  filthy  streets  are  de- 
moralising without  being  absolutely  certain  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  state. 


§4]  Practical  Sociology.  7 

4.   Spirit  of  Sociological  Inquiry. 

The  student  of  social  science  depends  for  his  data  upon 
three  general  sources,  —  first,  the  results  of  personal  observa- 
tion, whether  made  by  himself  or  others;  second,  the  sys- 
tematic works  on  sociology,  political  economy,  history,  law, 
government,  etc. ;  and,  third,  the  records  of  official  transac- 
tions and  of  investigations  into  conditions  conducted  under 
governmental  authority  or  by  private  individuals.  The  bete 
noire  of  sociology  is  insufficient  information.  If  social  science 
is  to  be  anything  more  than  a  fad  with  the  student,  he  must 
be  habitually  sceptical  of  all  statements  which  bear  upon  the 
relations  of  men,  and  from  which  he  hopes  to  deduce  some 
law  or  establish  beyond  controversy  the  cause  of  some  existing 
condition.  He  must  know  the  opportunities,  the  carefulness, 
the  honesty,  and  the  freedom  from  prejudice  of  the  observer. 
If  the  investigator  be  really  scientific  in  his  methods  of  study, 
he  cares  not  so  much  to  be  pleased  by  what  the  results  may 
bring  out,  as  to  feel  assured  that  the  showing  is  accurate ;  he 
is  ready  at  all  times  to  recast  his  opinions,  to  modify  his 
reasoning,  and  even  to  turn  his  mind  into  new  channels  of 
thought,  whenever  the  facts  indicate  that  such  changes  should 
be  made  ;  his  face  is  always  turned  to  the  light. 

Hence  the  true  sociologist  is  more  fond  of  the  inductive 
than  of  the  deductive  method  of  reasoning ;  he  is  also  the 
friend  of  the  historical  school,  and  welcomes  every  endeavour 
of  societies  and  of  organised  government  to  secure  accurate 
and  sufficient  data  bearing  on  the  questions  which  interest 
him.  So  he  welcomes  with  enthusiasm  the  efforts  of  govern- 
ments everywhere  to  report  the  facts  relative  to  the  condi- 
tions of  the  people,  their  numbers,  their  habits,  their  business 
interests,  their  moral,  economic,  and  social  relations,  —  every- 
thing, in  fact,  which  grows  out  of  the  relations  of  men  to  each 
other  and  to  society.  He  does  not  insist  that  governments 
or  individuals  shall  have  his  pet  motives  for  ascertaining  and 
presenting  facts ;  for  instance,  government,  for  the  purposes 


8  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  4 

of  revenue  legislation,  may  ascertain  the  facts  relative  to  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicants,  with  no  reference  what- 
ever to  the  bearing  of  the  results  of  the  inquiry  upon  the 
moral  and  social  welfare  of  the  members  of  a  community.  If 
the  truth  is  ascertained,  social  science  is  satisfied,  and  can 
use  the  facts  presented  by  the  government  in  every  relation  to 
which  they  apply. 

The  student  of  social  science  cannot  be  a  partisan ;  he 
must  accept  conclusions  which  are  proved.  He  may  advocate 
reforms,  he  may  insist  upon  changes  in  legislation,  upon  the 
adoption  of  new  systems  of  finance  or  commerce,  but  he  does 
all  this  because  to  his  mind  the  ascertained  facts  lead  to  his 
conclusions ;  until  these  facts  are  completely  overturned  he 
will  adhere  and  must  adhere  to  his  position ;  yet  he  knows 
well  that  all  statistical  statements  are  subject  to  error  and 
may  be  imperfectly  analysed,  and  that  the  results  of  any 
governmental  inquiry  are  open  to  the  charge  of  inadequacy, 
even  when  the  integrity  of  the  inquiry  cannot  be  questioned. 
He  uses  the  results  .of  statistical  inquiry  because  that  is 
material  of  scientific  value,  and  because  he  recognises  with 
the  German  Schlosser,  that  "  statistics  is  history  ever  advan- 
cing," and  that  if  he  wishes  to  grow  with  advancing  history 
and  keep  himself  fully  and  thoroughly  informed  of  progress 
in  every  direction,  he  must  use  the  statistical  or  historical 
method.  The  farther  advanced  the  student  of  social  science 
may  be,  the  better  able  he  will  be  to  use  statistical  results 
critically  and  with  such  a  power  of  analysis  as  may  enable  him 
at  once  to  see  the  relations  of  facts  and  to  accept  the  true  and 
reject  the  false.  This  makes  the  social  scientist  an  interested 
observer  of  what  government  or  private  enterprise  may  do  in 
the  way  of  making  contributions  in  his  favourite  field. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  What  right  has  the  govern- 
ment to  collect  facts  other  than  those  absolutely  essential  for 
intelligent  legislation  and  the  proper  administration  of  laws? 
The  answer  is  evident.  The  education  of  the  masses  in  the 
elementary  facts  of  political  and  economic  science  is  one  oi 


§5]  Spirit  of  Sociological  Inquiry.  9 

the  greatest  educational  ends  of  the  day.  The  whole  effort  of 
government,  therefore,  to  put  the  people  in  the  possession  of 
facts  concerning  all  their  conditions  in  life,  so  far  as  the  same 
may  be  subject  to  official  inquiry,  belongs  to  the  educational 
work  of  the  people.  It  is  the  mission  of  government  to  secure 
that  information  which  is  essential  for  the  proper  understand- 
ing of  industrial  and  social  conditions.  This  feature  of  educa- 
tional work  cannot  be  done  by  the  schools,  nor  by  individuals. 
It  must  be  done,  if  done  at  all,  by  the  government ;  and  the 
government  of  the  United  States  finds  its  duty  under  the  Con- 
stitution to  put  the  public  in  the  possession  of  certain  lines 
of  information.  The  general  welfare  and  the  blessings  of 
liberty  for  which  the  Constitution  was  framed  can  neither  be 
secured  nor  promoted  without  an  intelligent  understanding 
of  all  the  conditions  surrounding  life. 

In  obedience  to  this  lofty  sentiment,  the  framers  of  the 
Constitution  further  provided  for  a  periodical  census,  the  first 
provision  of  its  kind  in  any  country ;  they  thus  led  the  way  in 
all  civilised  countries  for  the  systematic  collection  of  facts 
from  which  the  study  of  the  relations  of  men  could  be  intelli- 
gently made.  It  was  part  of  the  vast  machinery  of  govern- 
ment established  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  nation  to 
carry  out  the  injunction  "  Know  thyself,"  which  should  be 
applied  to  communities  as  well  as  to  individuals ;  and  it  was 
recognised  by  the  founders  of  our  own  government  that  it  is 
only  through  rigid,  impartial,  and  fearless  investigation  that 
any  community  can  know  itself  in  the  many  directions  in 
which  knowledge  is  to  be  obtained.  At  the  outset,  therefore, 
one  must  know  something  of  the  great  collections  of  material 
upon  which  just  opinions  may  be  founded  ;  and  among  them 
the  national  census,  the  other  national  publications,  state  docu- 
ments, and  the  original  work  of  individuals. 

5.   The   National   Census. 

There  had  been,  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
in  1789,  various  colonial  and  local  censuses,  and  foreign  coun- 


i  o  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  5 

tries  had  made  enumerations  at  irregular  intervals,  so  that  the 
framers  of  the  Constitution  must  be  presumed  to  have  been 
familiar  with  the  benefits  of  census-taking.  Commencing 
with  1790,  the  United  States  has  made  regular  decennial  enu- 
merations of  the  population,  and,  beginning  with  the  year  1850, 
has  conducted  what  may  be  properly  called  a  national  census, 
comprehending  many  features  beyond  the  mere  enumeration 
of  the  inhabitants. 

While  the  Constitution  contained  the  germ  of  the  census 
in  its  modern  proportions,  the  men  who  framed  it  and  who 
were  first  called  upon  to  carry  its  provisions  into  effect  com- 
prehended the  necessity  of  immediately  expanding  the  germ, 
and  the  pace  which  they  set  has  been  accelerated  to  a  speed 
which  ha^  sometimes  been  criticised. 

In  studying  the  nature,  the  value,  and  the  extent  of  the 
contributions  of  the  Federal  Government  to  social  science, 
one  turns  naturally  to  the  efforts  of  the  first  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Alexander  Hamilton.  His  report  on  manufactures, 
taking  the  conditions  and  the  means  of  collecting  the  facts 
relating  to  them  into  consideration,  is  a  masterpiece  of  offi- 
cial investigation.  Its  value  was  of  vast  importance  at  the 
time  it  was  made,  but  its  value  is  a  continuing  one.  Eveiy 
student  of  economic  relations,  or  of  the  condition  of  labour, 
or  of  the  progress  of  manufactures,  or  of  the  development  of 
industrial  interests,  must  make  liberal  use  of  this  report.  It 
was  one  of  a  most  valuable  series  of  reports  made  by  Mr. 
Hamilton,  the  others  relating  to  the  public  credit  of  the 
United  States,  the  national  bank  and  coinage. 

The  scope  of  the  census  has  been  broadened  gradually  from 
a  few  inquiries,  chiefly  numerical,  made  at  the  first  census  in 
1790  to  the  present  encyclopaedic  proportions.  The  reports 
of  the  tenth  census  (1880)  embody  22,  those  of  the  eleventh 
25  quarto  volumes.  These  reports  cover  the  statistics  of 
population ;  manufactures,  agriculture,  and  irrigation  ;  wealth, 
debt,  and  taxation  ;  farms,  homes,  and  mortgages ;  mineral 
resources ;  transportation ;  insurance ;  vital  statistics  ;  the 


§  6]  National  Census.  1 1 

statistics  of  crime,  pauperism,  and  benevolence ;  fish  and 
fisheries;  educational  and  church  statistics,  social  statistics, 
and  facts  relating  to  the  Indians. 

The  census  takes  cognisance,  as  a  rule,  of  those  things 
which  can  be  counted  and  summarised  into  aggregations.  It 
does  not  seek  to  make  investigation  relative  to  conditions  not 
ascertainable  in  this  manner,  nor  does  it  seek  to  furnish  the 
results  of  constant  actions,  or  a  record  of  the  business  transac- 
tions of  any  governmental  office.  It  counts  the  people,  and 
while  counting  them  it  ascertains  all  the  characteristics  as  to 
age,  sex,  conjugal  condition,  nativity,  occupation,  and  physical 
and  mental  conditions.  For  this  purpose  it  has  expanded  the 
population  schedules  from  six  inquiries  made  at  the  first  census 
to  twenty-six  made  at  the  last.  It  counts  the  number  of 
manufactures  of  all  kinds  and  grades  ;  it  aggregates  the  capital 
employed  in  all  industries,  and,  in  fact,  enumerates,  by  count- 
ing, the  instrumentalities  by  which  the  various  enterprises  of 
the  country  are  carried  on  ;  but  it  is  emphatically  a  system 
of  counting,  and  the  census  gives  the  results  of  the  count.  It 
is  an  account  of  stock  in  the  true  sense. 

6.   Other  National  Collections  of  Sociological  Material. 

Closely  allied  to  this  method  of  ascertaining  facts  is  another 
illustrated  by  the  operations  of  the  Treasury  Department.  This 
department  has  the  execution  of  laws  relating  to  commerce 
and  the  finances.  Its  transactions,  therefore,  become  import- 
ant, and  the  results  are  most  valuable  contributions  to  social 
science.  Through  this  department  we  learn  the  course  of 
immigration ;  the  character,  quantity,  and  value  of  imports 
and  exports ;  the  financial  condition  of  the  country ;  all  facts 
relative  to  the  currency,  including  the  operation  of  the  mints, 
the  condition  of  coinage,  and  the  value  of  foreign  coins  in 
American  money ;  the  revenues  and  expenditures  of  the 
government ;  how  the  revenues  are  obtained,  and  the  classi- 
fication of  the  expenditures  ;  quantity  and  value  of  articles 
manufactured  under  the  internal  revenue  laws,  like  liquors  and 


i  2  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  6 

proprietary  medicines,  —  everything,  in    fact,  relating  to  the 
.financial  condition  of  the  country. 

The  publications  of  the  Treasury  Department  bearing  upon 
social  questions  are  chiefly  statistical  in  their  character,  and 
from  what  has  been  said  it  is  easily  seen  that  they  can  be 
divided  into  two  classes  relating,  first,  to  finance,  and,  second, 
to  commerce,  navigation,  and  immigration. 

One  would  hardly  look  for  contributions  to  social  science 
under  the  work  of  the  Department  of  State ;  yet,  although  its 
work  relates  more  to  historical  than  to  social  questions,  many 
of  its  publications  are  among  the  most  important  general  con- 
tributions in  the  latter  field ;  but  whatever  it  has  done  in  the 
way  of  historical  publications  is  in  the  interest  of  social  science, 
as  history  constitutes  one  of  its  most  important  branches. 
Some  of  the  most  important  of  the  regular  reports  of  the 
Department  of  State  are  those  of  its  Bureau  of  Statistics,  now 
the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Commerce,  which  was  organised  in 
1856  ;  though  for  the  most  part  its  contributions  relate  to  com- 
mercial and  industrial  matters,  social  questions,  such  as  wages, 
prices,  cost  of  living,  workingmen's  houses,  etc.,  receive  fre- 
quent attention.  In  the  Consular  Reports  also  are  to  be  found 
many  studies  of  economic  and  social  conditions  in  foreign 
countries,  compared  with  those  of  the  United  States. 

The  chief  contributions  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior  to 
social  science,  other  than  those  of  the  census,  have  been  made 
through  the  Bureau  of  Education,  which  publishes  an  annual 
report,  special  reports,  circulars  of  information,  and  miscellane- 
ous documents.  The  annual  reports  contain  the  statistics  of 
the  schools,  colleges,  and  other  institutions  of  learning  in  the 
United  States.  The  special  reports  are  exceedingly  valuable, 
both  from  an  educational  .point  of  view,  relating  simply  to 
school  or  college  work,  and  in  a  wider  sense.  Among  the  chief 
special  publications  are  those  on  art  in  industry,  criminology, 
etc.  The  circulars  of  information  embrace  among  their  number 
two  regular  series,  —  first,  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Educational 


§  6]  National  Collections.  1  3 

Association  ;  second,  the  history  of  higher  education  in  the 
United  States. 

Information  as  to  the  settlement  of  lands,  an  important  fea- 
ture of  social  science,  is  obtainable  through  the  publications  of 
the  General  Land  Office.  The  regular  annual  report  of  the 
Commissioner  furnishes  current  information  as  to  sales,  settle- 
ments, and  quantities  of  land  still  unassigned,  while  in  special 
reports  information  as  to  laws  relating  to  the  settlement  of 
lands  may  be  found,  together  with  the  whole  history  of  the 
land  system  of  the  government  public  lands,  condition  of  the 
national  domain,  and  everything  relating  to  the  action  of 
government  in  settling  the  vast  territory  belonging  to  the 
people. 

Through  the  publications  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  much  most  valuable  ethnological  information  can  be 
secured.  The  transactions  of  the  government  with  the  Indi- 
ans, as  currently  reported  by  the  Commissioner,  give  the 
necessary  information  as  to  the  relations  of  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment to  the  Indian  tribes,  while  various  other  documents 
emanating  from  the  Indian  office  are  of  exceedingly  great 
value  in  studying  so  interesting  a  question. 

The  Geological  Survey  makes  most  important  contributions 
relating  to  the  mineral  resources  of  the  country,  irrigation,  and 
other  matters  bearing  upon  the  nation's  material  development. 
The  results  of  the  researches  of  this  office  are  published  in 
annual  and  special  reports. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  United  States  Patent  Office  fur- 
nish information  of  the  progress  of  invention,  and  from  them 
the  business  of  the  office  can  be  readily  understood. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  is  the  chief  publishing  branch 
of  the  United  States  government.  The  extent  of  its  operations 
as  a  publisher  may  be  seen  from  the  last  annual  report  of  the 
Chief  of  the  Division  of  Records  and  Editing.  During  the 
fiscal  year  1900-01,  the  department  issued  606  separate  pub- 
lications, embracing  27,136  pages  of  printed  matter.  There 
were  7,889,281  copies  of  these  publications  printed.  The 


14  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§6 

great  majority  of  these  publications  relate  to  the  technical 
details  of  agriculture  or  the  scientific  aspects  of  agricultural 
problems.  The  publications  of  its  good  roads,  forestry,  and 
statistical  divisions  are,  however,  of  great  interest,  and  are 
positive  and  valuable  contributions  to  social  science.  Its 
statistical  work  is  of  especial  value  for  subjects  treated  in  this 
volume.  The  reports  of  the  statistical  bureau  include  monthly 
statistical  reports,  giving  a  survey  of  the  condition  of  crops, 
and  special  statistical  papers  on  such  subjects  as  freight  rates, 
the  production  of  farm  products  in  foreign  countries,  etc. ; 
monthly  crop  synopses,  being  summaries  of  the  conditions, 
prospects,  yield,  price,  distribution,  and  consumption  of  crops, 
and  the  number  and  value  of  farm  animals.  This  little  pub- 
lication is  issued  in  advance  of  the  monthly  statistical  reports 
in  order  that  prompt  information  may  be  given  to  the  public. 
The  miscellaneous  series  includes  special  contributions  on  par- 
ticular subjects.  In  addition  to  this,  the  statistician  of  the 
department  makes  a  special  report  showing,  among  other 
things,  wages,  prices  of  agricultural  products,  freight  rates,  etc. 
The  department  has  also  brought  out  some  valuable  specific 
reports  relative  to  the  diseases  of  the  horse,  treatment  of  cattle, 
and  various  subjects  not  only  of  interest  to  the  farmer  himself 
but  to  those  who  are  studying  the  progress  of  science  in  the 
treatment  of  crops  and  of  animals.  Most  of  the  work  of  this 
institution  is  of  a  purely  scientific  nature,  but  in  its  publications 
much  information  of  value  to  social  science  is  to  be  found. 

No  more  important  contributions  have  been  made  under 
government  auspices  than  those  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
Striking  at  the  very  roots  of  social  science  itself,  by  reporting 
upon  the  conditions  of  tribes  and  peoples,  it  must  take  first 
rank  in  the  estimation  of  social  scientists.  It  publishes  annual 
reports  and  reprints  of  special  papers.  Its  volumes  are  bulky  ; 
they  are  thoroughly  illustrated,  and  are  scientific  discussions  of 
ethnological  topics. 

The  reports  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  come 
strictly  under  the  range  of  sociology,  so  far  as  statistics  of  rail- 


§6]  National  Collections.  15 

roads  are  concerned.  They  have  been  published  regularly  since 
1888,  and  they  furnish  the  most  trustworthy  information  rela- 
tive to  the  conditions  of  railroad  transportation  that  can  be 
obtained. 

The  contributions  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries 
relate  directly  to  the  study  of  social  science,  as  they  belong  to 
the  food  question.  The  investigations  of  the  commission  re- 
late to  food  fishes  and  to  the  methods  of  propagating  them, 
and  the  reports  show  the  results  of  the  inquiries  as  well  as  the 
efforts  of  the  commission  to  increase  the  supply  of  fish  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  in  the  practical  line  of 
the  work  established  by  government  so  many  years  ago,  when 
it  sought  to  do  all  in  its  power  to  aid  in  the  development  of 
the  natural  resources  of  the  country. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Labour  was  established 
especially  for  the  collection  and  publication  of  information 
bearing  upon  social  science,  the  duties  of  the  department 
under  the  law  being  to  acquire  and  diffuse  among  the  people 
of  the  United  States  useful  information  on  subjects  connected 
with  labour,  in  the  most  general  and  comprehensive  sense  of 
that  word,  and  especially  upon  its  relation  to  capital,  the  hours 
of  labour,  the  earnings  of  labouring  men  and  women,  and  the 
means  of  promoting  their  material,  social,  intellectual,  and 
moral  prosperity.  Under  this  broad  authorisation  the  depart- 
ment has  made  seventeen  annual  reports,  and  in  addition  has 
published  nine  special  reports.  The  Department  of  Labour  is 
now  authorised  by  law  to  publish  a  bulletin,  which  consists  of 
condensations  of  foreign  and  American  reports  on  labour  and 
industrial  subjects,  results  of  original  inquiry,  and  any  facts  or 
information  of  value  to  the  social  and  industrial  interests  of  the 
country. 

The  publications  just  enumerated  are  those  which  are  most 
distinctly  contributions  to  social  science ;  but  the  annual  re- 
ports of  all  the  departments,  —  as  the  Post-Office  Department, 
in  dealing  with  the  transmission  of  intelligence,  the  Department 
of  Justice  in  dealing  with  criminal  conditions,  —  in  giving  facts 


1 6  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  6 

relative  to  the  transactions  of  the  government,  are  sources  for 
the  study  of  sociology. 

There  is  another  body  besides  these  organised  offices  en- 
gaged in  making  such  contributions,  the  Congress  itself.  Prior 
to  1820  the  statistical  work  of  the  government,  apart  from  that 
of  the  decennial  census,  and  those  figures  given  in  the  annual 
reports  of  executive  officers,  consisted  in  the  purchase  of 
the  statistical  publications  of  private  parties.  In  addition  to 
this  feature  of  congressional  contribution,  there  have  been 
many  special  reports  of  committees  relating  to  sociological 
matters  that  have  enlarged  the  contributions  to  social  science, 
investigations  into  conditions  of  labour,  specific  labour  troubles, 
immigration,  naturalisation,  etc.,  having  been  among  its  best 
work. 

7.  State  and  Private  Collections  of  Sociological  Material. 

In  addition  to  all  these  valuable  works  emanating  from  the 
Federal  government  and  its  various  branches,  the  States  have 
Undertaken  the  collection  of  an  enormous  amount  of  informa- 
tion. Since  1869  thirty-five  States  have  authorised  the  estab- 
lishment of  bureaus  of  statistics  of  labour,  for  the  purpose  of 
collecting  facts  concerning  the  social,  moral,  and  industrial 
welfare  of  the  people.  These  offices  have  considered  a  great 
variety  of  subjects,  and  their  reports  consist  of  more  than  four 
hundred  and  fifty  volumes.  All  the  various  bureaus  and  com- 
missions of  the  different  State  governments  publish  annually  or 
biennially  valuable  reports  on  finance,  insurance,  railroads,  char- 
ity, prisons,  and  all  the  interests  to  which  government  now  gives 
so  much  attention. 

The  question  might  be  asked,  "  What  is  the  value  of  this  vast 
store  of  information  contributed  by  the  various  departments  of 
the  Federal  and  State  governments?"  It  is  of  inestimable 
value,  and  as  a  rule  the  information  is  trustworthy.  Care  is 
taken  to  secure  only  that  information  which  has  a  positive 
bearing  upon  the  current  problems  of  the  times,  and  the  men 
engaged  in  the  collection  of  the  information  are  almost  inva- 


§7]  State  and  Private  Collections.  17 

riably  so  thoroughly  interested  in  the  ascertainment  of  the  truth 
that  their  work  is  free  from  bias  and  may  be  accepted  by  the 
scientist  as  worthy  of  his  use. 

From  these  categorical  statements  it  must  be  concluded  that 
the  Federal  and  State  governments  have  been  most  generous 
in  their  contributions  to  social  science,  and  that  its  study  could 
not  be  carried  on  without  such  contributions.  The  efforts  of 
private  individuals,  the  results  of  personal  observation,  and  the 
collection  of  facts  by  travellers  and  students,  all  valuable  as 
they  are,  are  entirely  inadequate  for  the  discussion  of  the 
great  social  problems  of  the  day.  Social  science  deals  with 
the  vital  interests  and  relations  of  the  people  themselves.  Can 
government  do  better  than  to  make  its  contributions  in  the 
future,  not  simply  as  generous,  as  emphatic,  and  as  far-reach- 
ing as  those  in  the  past,  but  still  more  scientific  and  still  more 
comprehensive  ? 

It  is  the  statistical  method  that  enables  government  to  make 
its  contributions  to  the  study  of  sociology.  A  modern  method, 
scientific  in  its  processes,  it  has  enabled  the  sociologist  to  get 
nearer  the  real  relations  of  the  people  than  he  could  under  any 
other  method.  Until  this  century  the  student  of  society  was 
obliged  to  take  his  facts  from  the  fragmentary  statements  of 
historians,  who  did  not  deal  so  much  with  the  people  and  their 
conditions  as  with  governments,  administrations,  and  wars. 
To-day  the  statistical  method  reaches  almost  every  vital  point 
in  the  social  structure,  and  to  its  expansion  the  enlightened 
study  of  society  is  greatly  indebted. 

All  the  leading  governments  of  the  world  publish  in  great 
volume  data  from  which  conclusions  can  be  drawn.  It  has 
been  considered  sufficient,  however,  for  the  present  purpose  to 
outline  in  brief  the  contributions  of  our  own  American  govern- 
ments which  can  be  used  in  the  study  of  social  relation. 
When  it  is  known  that  the  United  States  Government  alone 
expends  annually  about  nine  million  dollars,  and  employs 
over  four  thousand  persons  in  scientific  work,  the  value  of 
official  contributions  will  be  thoroughly  comprehended. 


1 8  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§  7 

In  addition  to  the  Federal  census,  twenty-seven  States  and 
Territories  have  constitutional  or  statutory  provisions  for  tak- 
ing a  census  more  or  less  complete,  and  most  of  them  on  the 
quinquennial  period  between  the  Federal  decennial  censuses. 
These  provision's  are  not  always  carried  out,  but  the  States 
of  Florida,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Massachusetts,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Oregon,  Rhode  Island, 
South  Dakota,  Utah,  Wisconsin,  Tennessee,  and  the  Territory 
of  Oklahoma  have  all  taken  censuses  since  the  Federal  census 
of  1890. 

The  following  States  have  bureaus  of  statistics  of  labour  or 
kindred  offices  now  existing :  California,  Colorado,  Connecti- 
cut, Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Louisiana, 
Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Mis- 
souri, Montana,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  North  Carolina,  North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania, 
Rhode  Island,  Tennessee,  Utah,  Virginia,  Washington,  West 
Virginia,  Wisconsin. 

Similar  foreign  offices  :  the  Labour  Department,  England  ; 
Department  of  Labour,  New  Zealand  ;  Department  of  Labour 
and  Industries,  New  South  Wales  ;  Bureau  of  Labour,  France  ; 
Bureau  of  Labour,  Belgium  ;  Commission  for  Labour  Statistics, 
Germany ;  Department  of  Agriculture,  Industries,  and  Com- 
merce, Italy ;  Royal  Statistical  Bureau,  Russia ;  Bureau  of 
Statistics,  Switzerland  ;  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Sweden ;  Bureau 
of  Labour  Statistics,  Austria  ;  Department  of  Labour,  Canada  ; 
Bureau  of  Commerce  and  Statistics,  Spain. 

Private  enterprise  has  not  been  lacking  in  supplying  socio- 
logical data ;  its  chief  effort  has  been  through  the  publica- 
tions of  societies  or  associations,  such  as  the  Royal  Statistical 
Society  of  London,  the  National  Association  (British)  for  the 
Promotion  of  Social  Science,  and  the  statistical  societies  of 
Liverpool,  Manchester,  Paris,  Berlin,  and  other  European 
cities.  The  publications  of  these  societies  offer  most  valuable 
contributions  for  the  student  of  social  matters.  These  con- 


§8]  Monographs  and  Single  Studies.        19 

tributions  are  not  always  of  original  data,  although  members 
of  the  societies  have  made  investigations  at  their  own  expense 
and  contributed  the  results  as  a  matter  of  public  service. 

In  this  country  the  American  Statistical  Association,  one  of 
our  oldest  scientific  bodies  ;  the  American  Social  Science  Asso- 
ciation ;  the  American  Economic  Association,  and  the  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  —  have  all  been  pro- 
lific producers  of  most  valuable  material  in  the  study  of  social 
and  industrial  questions.  Of  late  years  the  scientific  bodies 
as  such  have  added  sections  to  their  work  in  which  economic 
and  industrial  matters  have  received  attention.  This  is  true 
of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  American  Academy 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and  other  bodies.  Of  late,' 
the  great  international  expositions  hold  congresses  before 
which  are  brought  the  contributions  of  data  relating  to 
different  countries,  and  which  in  any  way  affect  the  welfare 
of  the  people.  This  is  perhaps  the  most  expansive  method 
which  has  been  adopted  for  the  dissemination  of  sociological 
facts. 

8.   Monographs   and   Single   Studies. 

In  addition  to  the  sources  enumerated  there  are  still  others 
which  should  command  attention.  Individual  effort,  irre- 
spective of  the  publications  of  government  officers  and  asso- 
ciations, has  added  great  value  to  the  literature  relating 
to  our  subject.  The  results  of  these  efforts  are  found  in 
monographs  and  single  studies,  especially  articles  contributed 
to  the  great  magazines  and  reviews.  In  looking  through  the 
files  of  the  "  Edinburgh  Review,"  or  the  "  Quarterly,"  or  the 
"  North  American  Review,"  from  their  inception,  the  student 
will  find  here  and  there  important  studies.  The  editors  of  all 
the  magazines  and  reviews  conceive  it  their  duty  to  bring  to 
their  pages  articles  from  experts  on  all  phases  of  social  and 
industrial  life.  The  catalogues  of  publishers  show  a  great  num- 
ber of  monographs,  while  the  indexes  of  reviews  and  magazines 
disclose  an  enormous  mass  of  sociological  work. 


2o  Basis  of  Sociology.  [§8 

Of  late  years  universities  and  colleges  have  in  a  large 
measure  taken  to  the  publication  of  single  papers  and  series, 
to  which  the  student  can  turn  with  great  profit.  These  studies 
are  of  the  greatest  value,  because  undertaken  by  enthusiastic 
students  in  the  universities,  who  bestow  time  and  labour  in 
original  research  along  clearly  defined  lines.  As  an  example 
of  this,  the  "Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  "  may  be  cited. 
Other  universities  publish  under  their  auspices  journals  of 
great  value,  such  as  the  "  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,"  at 
Harvard,  and  the  "  Political  Science  Quarterly,"  at  Columbia, 
the  Yale  "  Review,"  and  the  publications  of  the  University  of 
Chicago.  All  these  publications  are  really  makers  of  public 
opinion ;  they  are  having  an  influence  beyond  estimate,  and 
must  be  considered  as  among  the  sources  of  sociological  data 
of  the  highest  value.  The  mere  collection,  classification,  and 
publication  of  statistics  are  supplemented  by  the  philosophical 
and  scientific  writers  and  students,  whose  works  appear  as 
monographs,  articles,  or  single  studies  in  various  ways.  Tak- 
ing all  the  sources  that  have  been  suggested  in  this  chapter, 
the  student  ought  to  have  little  or  no  difficulty  in  equipping 
himself  in  the  study  of  sociology. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   POPULATION   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

9.    References. 

United  States,  Twelfth  Census  (1900),  Report  on  Population,  Parts  I. 
and  II.,  the  Atlas  and  the  report  on  methods  and  results  of  the  Twelfth 
Census;  Richmond  Mayo-Smith,  Statistics  and  Sociology ;  Walter  F. 
Willcox,  Area  and  Population  of  the  United  States  at  the  Eleventh  Census, 
and  Density  and  Distribution  of  Population  in  the  United  States  at  the 
Eleventh  Census  (American  Economic  Association,  Economic  Studies,  XI., 
Nos.  4  and  6)  ;  Henry  Gannett,  The  Building  of  a  Nation.  Bibliography 
of  the  Censuses  from  1790  to  1886  in  E.  C.  Lunt,  Key  to  the  Publications 
of  the  United  States  Census  (American  Statistical  Association,  Publications, 
New  Series,  Nos.  2,  3).  Carroll  D.  Wright  and  William  C.  Hunt,  History 
and  Growth  of  United  States  Census,  1790-1890  (an  Historical  Review  of 
the  Federal  Census,  Growth  of  Census,  Inquiries,  Cost  of  Various 
Censuses,  Description  of  Reports). 

10.    Total  Population  and  Rate  of  Increase. 

The  first  task  of  the  writer  in  sociology  is  to  put  before  his 
readers,  as  clearly  as  possible,  the  conditions  under  which  the 
social  organisation  is  and  must  be  formed.  Social  problems 
have  to  deal  with  the  complexities  of  human  nature ;  with  the 
workings  of  minds  actuated  by  many  complicated  motives ; 
with  developments  of  beliefs  and  aims  for  which  no  explana- 
tory law  can  be  stated.  But  it  will  be  easier  both  to  under- 
stand these  problems  and  to  consider  remedies,  if  we  have  a 
clear  conception  of  what  the  people  of  the  United  States  are, 
how  they  are  distributed,  and  what  causes  them  to  come  to- 
gether in  those  masses  which  make  up  our  great  municipalities. 
We  must  know  something  of  the  distribution  of  the  population 
as  to  numbers,  climatic  and  other  natural  conditions,  nativity, 
sex,  conjugal  condition,  and  families,  as  to  the  movement  of 
the  population,  and  as  to  race  distinctions. 

The  population  of  the  United  States  June  i,  1900,  as 
ascertained  at  the  Twelfth  Census,  exclusive  of  white  persons 
in  the  Indian  Territory,  Indians  on  reservations,  and  the  pop- 
ulation of  Alaska  and  Hawaii,  was  75,568,686  ;  including  these, 
it  was  76,303,387.  Later  on  we  shall  observe  that  many 

21 


22       Population  of  the  United  States.     [§  10 


social  problems  arise  from  the  mere  numbers  of  persons  with 
whom  governments  must  deal.1 

Such  problems  become  more  serious  as  population  grows. 
At  the  first  census,  taken  in  1790,  the  population  of  the  United 
States  was  3,929,2i4.2  The  regularity  of  increase  from  1800 
to  1860  is  striking,  and  then  the  influence  of  the  war  and  of 
other  elements  is  shown  in  the  dropping  of  the  percentage 

1  The  area  and  population  of  the  world  are  approximately  as  follows  :  — 


Divisions. 

Square  Miles. 

Population. 

Asia  (6)    

880,791,583 

Africa  (£)  

Australasia  (d)      

3*454)763 

6,157,005 

Total      

(a)  Including  adjacent  islands  and  Iceland,  (b)  Including  adjacent  islands,  (c)  In- 
cluding Central  America  and  the  West  Indies,  Greenland,  and  other  adjacent  islands. 
(d)  Australia,  Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  New  Guinea,  and  the  South  Pacific  Islands. 

It  is  calculated  that  1,700,000  square  miles  of  the  earth's  surface  are 
uninhabited  or  ownerless,  5,000,000  square  miles  more  without  settled 
government,  while  the  remaining  45,000,000  square  miles  are  occupied 
by  definite  states,  of  which  there  are  75.  Of  these,  however,  eighteen 
occupy  87  per  cent  of  the  total  area. 

-  POPULATION,  INCREASE,  AND   PER  CENT  OF  INCREASE  AT  EACH 
CENSUS,  1790  TO  1900. 


Year. 

Population. 

Increase. 

Per  cent  of 
increase. 

ISOO                   .                              ... 

5  308  483 

1810          .                           ... 

7,239,881 

36  38 

1820     .... 

1830     

1840     

1850          .           ...           .     . 

35.87 

1860     

35.58 

1870     .     . 

38,558,371 

1880     .      .                .     .           .     . 

30  08 

1890          .                .... 

24.86 

ill 


TOTAL  POPULATION  OF  EACH  STATE  AND  TERRITORY  AT  EACH  CENSUS.  I 


[.Reproduced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.S  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology .3 


•  III 


iisiiii 


1 
1 


m 


TOTAL  POPULATION  OF  EACH  STATE  AND  TERRITORY  AT  EACH  CENSUS.  II. 


[Reproduced  from  reports  uf  Twelfth  U.S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.] 


i  Illi 
I 

II   iii! 


n: 
O 


§10] 


Rate  of  Increase. 


23 


from35T6ffin  1860  to  22§  in  1870.  With  increased  industrial 
and  commercial  activity,  the  percentage  of  increase  rose  again 
in  1880  to  301*2 . 

The  diminution  in  the  rate  of  increase  between  1880  and 
1890  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  census  of  1870  was 
grossly  deficient  in  the  Southern  States,  the  true  population  in 
1870,  as  estimated  by  the  officials  of  the  Eleventh  Census 
(1890),  being  39,818,449,  instead  of  38,558,371.  Using  this 
corrected  figure,  the  increases  for  the  last  four  decades  would 
be  as  follows  :  — 


Years. 

Increase. 

Number. 

Per  Cent. 

1860  to  1870   

8,375.128 

io,337,334 
12,466,467 

i3,233>63i 

26.64 
25.96 
24.86 
2I.OO 

1870  to  1880   .... 

1880  to  1890   

1890  to  1900   

Sociologically  considered,  the  absolute  population  is  less 
important  than  the  origin  of  the  people.  The  relative  influ- 
ence of  natives  and  of  immigrants  upon  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation since  the  decade  1850-60  can  be  approximately  shown 
by  determining  the  proportion  of  the  total  increase  found,  re- 
spectively, among  the  native  and  foreign-born  elements  of  the 
population  as  follows  :  — 


Years. 

Per  cent  of  Total  Increase  assignable 
to  Native  and  Foreign  Born. 

Native  Born. 

Foreign  Born. 

i8t;o  to  1860     . 

77-05 
8294 
89.24 

79-39 
91.30 

22.95 
17.06 
10.76 

20.61 

8.70 

1860  to  18^0     

1870  to  1880     

1880  to  1890     .     .     . 

1890  to  1900     

24          Population  of  the  United  States.         [§  10 


The  changes  in  the  proportionate  in- 
crease or  decrease  of  the  native  and 
foreign-born  elements  of  our  population 
at  each  decade,  as  shown  in  the  above 
table,  are  readily  explained  when  it  is 
considered  that  for  the  decades  1850 
to  1880  the  number  of  immigrants 
varied  but  slightly,  while  from  1880  to 
1890  their  number  was  very  nearly 
doubled,  being  2,598,214  from  1850  to 
1860,  2,314,824  from  1860  to  1870, 
2,812,191  from  187010  1880,5,246,613 
from  1880  to  1890,  and  3,687, 564  from 
189010  1900.  The  resulting  problems 
have  plainly  grown  more  serious  of  late 
/ears. 

11.  Rate  of  Increase  by  Sections. 
As  a  further  basis  of  a  study  of  soci- 
ology in  America,  it  is  necessary  to 
know  how  far  this  remarkable  increase 
is  a  general  movement  through  the 
country,  and  how  far  there  are  acceler- 
ating or  retarding  influences  in  the 
different  sections,  or  geographic  divi- 
sions,1 or  in  urban  and  rural  places. 
The  largest  proportional  increase  dur- 
ing the  last  three  decades  has  been  in 
the  Western  Division,  comprising  Mon- 
tana, Wyoming,  Colorado,  New  Mexico, 
Arizona,  Utah,  Nevada,  Idaho,  Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  and  California.  This 
division  grew  from  under  one  million 
to  over  four  millions  between  1870  and 
1900,  but  it  still  constitutes  only  5.4  per 
cent  of  the  population  of  the  nation. 


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§  ri]         Rate  of  Increase  by  Sections.  25 

In  the  Southern  States  the  imperfections  of  the  census  of  1870 
showed  an  enumeration  probably  much  less  than  the  real  popu- 
lation, when  compared  with  the  more  accurate  census  of  1880, 
hence  in  the  census  of  1890  the  relative  percentage  of  growth  is 
apparently  less  ;  yet,  on  the  whole,  the  Southern  divisions  show 
a  relative  growth  that  compares  well  with  that  of  other  sections. 

Nevertheless,  the  real  elements  of  growth  can  be  understood 
only  by  looking  deeper  into  the  conditions  of  smaller  units  of 
population  during  the  decade  from  1880  to  1890.  In  377 
counties  there  has  been  an  apparent  loss  of  inhabitants,  in 
some  cases  due  to  a  reduction  of  territory,  but  an  actual  dimin- 
ution occurred  in  about  365  counties,  such  losses  occurring 
mainly  in  Kansas,  Michigan,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  Nevada, 
New  York,  Ohio,  S.  Dakota,  Vermont,  and  Virginia.  The 
losses  in  other  States  were  practically  insignificant.  The 
ebb  and  flow  of  mining  operations  have  resulted  in  some 
change  in  the  totals  of  mining  counties,  as  in  Colorado  and 
some  parts  of  California ;  and  in  the  State  of  Nevada,  in  one 
half  of  the  counties,  the  number  of  inhabitants  has  materially 
decreased.  The  increase,  however,  in  our  great  western  do- 
mains has  been  over  33  per  cent;  both  the  Great  Plains  and 
the  agricultural  areas  of  the  far  western  plateau  have  felt  it. 
Northern  Michigan,  western  and  southern  Florida,  Arkansas, 
southern  Missouri,  and  central  Texas  exhibit  a  growth  that  is 
really  phenomenal,  and  the  southern  Appalachian  region  has 
largely  increased  its  population.  In  southern  New  England, 
as  well  as  in  the  most  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
Jersey,  commerce  and  manufactures  are  firmly  established  and 
constitute  the  leading  occupations ;  hence  the  people  have  to 
a  large  extent  been  withdrawn  from  the  country  and  been 
grouped  in  the  suburbs  of  cities  and  large  towns ;  so  the 
population,  which  thirty  or  forty  or  perhaps  fifty  years  ago 
did  not  increase  in  such  localities,  is  now  growing  rapidly 
under  the  activity  stimulated  by  profitable  occupations.  In 
the  central  parts  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  and 
New  York,  where  the  transition  from  agriculture  to  commer- 


26      Population  of  the  United  States.  [§n 

cial  and  manufacturing  industries  is  still  going  on,  population 
does  not  gain  with  very  great  strides.  The  changes  from  agri- 
culture to  commercial  and  manufacturing  pursuits  are  indicative 
always  of  a  transition  from  a  stationary  to  an  actively  increasing 
density  of  population.  This  is  evident  in  the  upper  Mississippi 
Valley  and  in  Virginia,  where  the  transition  is  becoming  appar- 
ent. The  areas  of  the  great  western  plains  are  being  peopled 
rapidly.  This  is  particularly  true  in  the  northern  portions. 
Cheap  lands  and  easy  tillage  of  the  virgin  soil  are  making  the 
competition  of  eastern  agriculturists  unprofitable,  and  so  the 
farming  population  of  the  far  Eastern  States  is  recruiting 
the  territory  embracing  the  rich  lands  of  the  West.  In  Nevada 
we  witness  the  peculiar  spectacle  of  a  loss  of  population  result- 
ing from  the  low  condition  of  the  mining  interests.  The  growth 
of  the  Northwest  offers  an  interesting  comparison  with  the 
statement  of  President  Jefferson  that  it  would  require  one 
thousand  years  to  settle  that  portion  of  our  country. 

12.  The  Centre  of  Population. 

Notwithstanding  the  large  and  growing  population  of  the 
eastern-coast  States,  the  proportionate  number  of  persons  in 
the  West  has  constantly  increased.  This  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  calculations  of  the  Census  Office,  showing  the  centre  of 
population.  Referring  to  the  diagram  on  the  opposite  page,  it 
will  be  seen  that  while  the  northern  and  southern  divisions 
have  shifted  little  in  a  century,  the  progress  of  growth  having 
been  along  the  39th  parallel  of  latitude,  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  West  has  carried  the  midway  point  from  a  spot  near 
Baltimore  in  1790  to  one  in  southern  Indiana,  519  miles  west- 
ward, in  1900.  This  indicates,  first,  the  additions  of  western 
territory  from  1803  to  1853,  and,  second,  the  slow  filling  up 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  average  movement  of  each 
decade  has  been  47.1  miles.  Whether  the  progress  west  of 
this  latter  point  will  continue,  or  whether  there  will  be  a. 
greater  variation  north  or  south  of  the  old  line  of  advance,  will 
depend  very  largely  upon  industrial  developments,  although  it 


Centre  —  Distribution. 


cannot  be  expected  that  the  westward  advance  will  be  as  rapid 
in  the  future  as  it  has  been  in  the  past.  There  will  be  a  re- 
tarding tendency  superinduced  by  the  commercial  interests  of 
the  eastern  coast,  which  tendency  will  not  be  altogether  offset 
by  the  filling  up  of  the  western  coast. 

13.   Distribution  by  Drainage. 

Political  boundaries  do  not  always  include  a  group  of  per- 
sons all  living  under  the  same  natural  conditions.  A  juster 
idea  of  the  actual  natural  groups  of  population  may  be  had  by 
considering  how  they  fall  within  the  three  great  natural  drain- 
age basins,  —  the  Atlantic  Slope,  the  Great  Basin,  and  the 
Pacific  Slope.  Under  the  first  great  division,  that  of  the  At- 
lantic Ocean,  as  a  primary  designation,  are  the  subordinate 
divisions  of  the  New  England  coast,  the  Middle  Atlantic  coast, 
the  South  Atlantic  coast,  the  Great  Lakes,  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  Great  Basin,  for  subdivisions,  has  Great  Salt 
Lake  and  the  Humboldt  River.  The  Pacific  Ocean  basin 
consists,  secondarily,  of  the  Colorado  River,  the  Sacramento 
River,  the  Klamath  River,  and  the  Columbia  River,  and  their 
several  great  tributaries.  The  percentage  of  the  total  popula- 
tion, distributed  over  these  drainage  areas  or  basins,  at  the  last 
four  censuses,  has  been  as  follows  :  — 


Divisions. 

1870. 

1880. 

1890. 

1900. 

Atlantic  Ocean     

97-8 

07.  1 

96.2 

oe.7 

New  England  Coast      .     .     . 

8-5 

7.6 

7.2 

7-i 

Middle  Atlantic  Coast  . 

20.8 

19.2 

I8.3 

18.1 

South  Atlantic  Coast     .     .     . 

7-3 

7-4 

6.8 

6.9 

Great  Lakes      .     .               . 

no 

IO  7 

1  1  •> 

0.7 

Gulf  of  Mexico     

so  ^ 

!;2.2 

C2.7 

C-l.  A 

Great  Basin      .     .               . 

O  7 

O  A. 

O  <i 

o.c 

Pacific  Ocean  .     .          . 

I  Q 

•>  e 

T..A. 

v8 

28      Population  of  the  United  States.  [§13 

More  than  ninety-five  percent  of  the  inhabitants  live  in  the 
country  which  is  drained  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  more  than 
one-half  of  the  population  live  in  the  region  drained  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  of  these  four-fifths  (nearly  forty-four  per 
cent  of  the  entire  population  of  the  country)  are  congregated 
in  the  drainage  area  of  the  Mississippi  River;  only  one  two- 
hundredth  live  in  the  Great  Basin,  and  about  one  thirty-third 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  table  shows  further  that  while  the 
proportion  of  the  American  people  living  within  the  region 
drained  directly  into  the  Atlantic  is  steadily  diminishing,  the 
part  drained  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  becoming  relatively 
more  populous. 

14.   Distribution  by  Natural  Features. 
Another  point  of  view  is  gained  from  a  still  more  detailed 
subdivision  according  to  natural  features ;  it  is  illustrated  by  a 
short  table  which  has  been  condensed  from  the  reports  of  the 
Twelfth  Census  :  — 


Regions. 

Area. 

Density  of  Population 
to  the  Square  Mile. 

1880. 

1890. 

1900. 

New  England  Hills      .... 
Allegheny  Plateau    

82,696 
99-539 
54,519 
89,920 
173.302 
254,823 
82,807 
118,326 

4I.7I3 

62,195 

454,99  l 
460,994 
296,220 
188,422 
229,869 
112,525 
106,549 
60,820 

84.2 
43-2 
560 

55-9 
30.6 
22.9 
153 
55-8 
18.9 

J:i 

°-5 
0.9 

o-3 

I.O 

0.7 

4-5 
8.8 

100.7 
51.6 
68.7 
64.9 
43-3 
273 
17.6 
61.6 
23-7 
'5-3 
24-5 
17 
1.4 
0.6 
1-3 

2.1 

7-4 
13-9 

I24.I 

61.0 
82.5 
75-7 
55-2 
33-o 
22.5 
68.7 
29.4 
19.4 

29  2 

2-3 
2.O 
I.I 

1.6 

3-2 
93 
17-8 

Appalachian  Valley      .... 
Piedmont  Region     
Lake  Region    

Coastal  Plain  

Interior  Timber  Region    .     .     . 
Mississippi  Alluvial  Region 
Ozark  Hills     

Great  Plains    .               .... 

Rocky  Mountains     
Plateau  Region    .               ... 

Columbian  Mesas     

Pacific  Valley  

Coast  Ranges  

Total      

(a)  2,970,230 

16.9 

21.  1 

25.6 

(«)  Exclusive  of  Alaska  and  Hawaii. 


NUMBER    OF   INHABITANTS  TO  THE  SQUARE   MILE, 
BY  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES,  1900. 

NOTE:— This  diagram  does  not  include  the  District  of  Columbia,  which  had 

4,645.3  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile  in  1900. 
0       25      50      75     100     125    150    175    200   225   250    275    300  325  350   375    4OO 


RHODE  ISLAND.. 
MASSACHUSETTS 

CONNECTICUT..... 

PENNSYLVANIA... 
MARYLAND  

DELAWARE  
ILLINOIS  
INDIANA  

KENTUCKY  -- 
TENNESSEE  
VIRGINIA 

=E 

' 

•• 
mmmm 

•• 

mmmt 

••1 
••• 
•Mi 
••• 

••• 
•• 
••• 

mmm 
mmm 
mmm 
mmm 
mmm 

••i 
••• 

• 
• 
• 

i 
i 

•• 
mmm 
•n 
••i 
•H 
•w 
•• 

^ 

•i 
•• 
• 
mm 
• 
• 
• 

1 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 
MISSOURI 

S.CAROLINA  
MICHIGAN 

IOWA 

N.CAROLINA  
WEST  VIRGINIA.  .- 
WISCONSIN.  
VERMONT.  „ 

GEORGIA  
ALABAMA  
MISSISSIPPI  
LOUISIANA  
ARKANSAS  

HAWAII  

MINNESOTA  -  

NEBRASKA  
INDIAN  TER.  
TEXAS  
OKLAHOMA  
FLORIDA 

CALIFORNIA  
WASHINGTON.... 
S.DAKOTA  
COLORADO  
N.  DAKOTA  
OREGON  
UTAH  _. 
IDAHO  
MONTANA  
NEW   MEXICO.... 
ARIZONA  
WYOMING  _  
NEVADA 

ALASKA  

^Reproduced  from  reports  o£  Twelfth  U.  S.  Census. 

§  15]         Natural  Features  —  Altitude.  29 

The  greatest  density,  as  shown  by  the  above  table,  is  found 
in  the  region  of  the  New  England  Hills,  and  the  lowest  den- 
sity in  the  Western  Plateau  region.  About  one  twenty-fifth 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  country  is  to  be  found  in  the 
coast  lowlands  and  the  alluvial  region  of  the  Mississippi  River ; 
this  population  consists  mainly  of  the  coloured  race.  About 
one-fiftieth  of  the  entire  population  is  found  in  the  desert  and 
semi-desert  regions  of  the  country,  and  one-fortieth  in  the 
West,  while  about  one-sixth  of  the  entire  population  is  to  be 
found  in  the  prairie  mountain  region.  The  diagram  opposite 
shows  the  same  phenomena  in  a  comparison  of  States. 

15.   Distribution  by  Altitude. 

Another  division  of  the  population  of  much  importance 
sociologically  is  by  altitude  above  the  sea-level,  since  elevation 
much  affects  the  conditions  of  health  and  productive  activity. 
More  than  two-thirds  of  the  population  live  below  1,000 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  only  about  one  one-hun- 
dredth are  found  above  5,000  feet,  even  though  the  fertile 
plains  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  much  of  the  region  below 
the  Rockies  and  the  Sierras  are  above  that  height.  Very  few 
people  permanently  reside  as  high  as  6,000  feet  above  the  sea  • 
on  the  other  hand,  one-sixth  of  the  people  live  less  than  100 
feet  above  the  sea-level,  along  the  seaboard,  and  in  the  swamp 
and  level  regions  of  the  South.  From  100  feet  to  about  1,000 
we  find  the  greater  part  of  the  population.  Between  2,000  and 
2,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  are  many  communities  on 
the  slope  of  the  Great  Western  plains.  From  2,500  to  4,000 
feet  of  altitude  the  country  is  rather  barren  and  sterile,  but 
from  4,000  and  5,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  more  especially 
between  5,000  and  6,000  feet,  the  population  is  much  greater. 
This  state  of  things  is  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  densest 
settlement  at  high  altitudes  in  the  Western  mountain  region  is 
at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  in  the  valleys 
about  Great  Salt  Lake,  which  regions  lie  between  4,000  and 
6,000  feet  elevation.  The  mining  operations  above  6,000 


30       Population  of  the  United  States.         [§15 

feet,  being  restricted  to  the  mountain  region,  largely  located 
in  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Nevada,  and  California,  account  for 
the  existence  of  the  population  at  the  altitude  of  6,000  feet 
and  more. 

The  population  of  the  country  is  increasing  numerically  in 
all  altitudes,  but  the  relative  movement  is  toward  the  region  of 
greater  altitudes,  and  is  more  clearly  perceptible  in  the  regions 
lying  between  1,000  and  6,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  popu- 
lation is  densest  along  the  seaboard,  the  narrow  strip  contain- 
ing our  great  seaports,  as  might  be  supposed  ;  but  the  density 
diminishes,  not  only  gradually  but  quite  uniformly,  up  to  2,000 
feet,  when  sparsity  of  population  is  the  rule. 


16.  Distribution  by  Rainfall,  Temperature,  and  Humidity. 

The  distribution  of  the  population  relative  to  mean  annual 
rainfall  indicates  not  only  the  tendency  of  people  to  seek 
arable  lands,  but  their  condition  as  to  general  healthfulness. 
The  average  annual  rainfall  in  this  country  is  29.6  inches,  but 
the  variations  range  from  zero  to  perhaps  125  inches.  Gaug- 
ing the  distribution  of  the  population  in  accordance  with  the 
average  annual  rainfall  in  different  localities,  some  interesting 
points  are  observable,  not  only  as  to  the  number  of  inhabitants 
in  the  areas  calculated,  but  as  to  the  density  of  population. 
The  greater  proportion  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  — 
practically  three-fourths  —  are  living  in  the  regions  in  which 
the  annual  rainfall  is  between  30  and  50  inches;  as  the  rain- 
fall increases  or  diminishes,  the  population  diminishes  rapidly. 
The  density  of  population  in  regions  where  the  average  rain- 
fall is  between  30  and  40  inches  is  50.1  per  square  mile,  and 
is  rapidly  increasing;  in  regions  where  it  is  from  40  to  50 
inches  annually  the  density  is  70  per  square  mile ;  in  regions 
where  the  rainfall  is  from  50  to  60  inches  annually  the  den- 
sity is  31,  and  in  the  arid  regions  of  the  West  (two-fifths 
of  the  entire  area  of  the  country),  where  the  rainfall  is  less 
than  20  inches,  about  3  per  cent  of  the  population  finds  its 


§16]   Rainfall,  Temperature,  and  Humidity.    31 

home  ;  for  large  areas  of  the  land  are  not  tillable,  except  by 
expensive  and  difficult  irrigation. 

Many  of  the  conditions  of  life  and  industrial  activity  are 
affected  by  temperature.  The  mean  annual  temperature  in 
the  United  States  (not  including  Alaska)  is  53°,  and  the 
greatest  density  of  population,  as  might  be  expected,  is  found 
in  those  regions  where  the  average  ranges  from  45°  to  50°. 
Either  side  of  this  range  the  density  of  population  rapidly 
diminishes,  just  as  it  decreases  rapidly  outside  the  average 
rainfall  between  30  and  50  inches.  More  than  three-fifths 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  country  live  in  an  average  tem- 
perature not  lower  than  45°  or  higher  than  55°,  and  less  than 
one-third  of  the  inhabitants  live  in  a  climate  over  55°.  Where 
the  temperature  reaches  70°  on  the  average,  one  one-hundred 
and  twenty-fifth  of  the  population  finds  a  home,  and  the  num- 
ber living  under  a  mean  annual  temperature  above  70°  is  too 
trifling  for  consideration.  These  facts  show  the  indisposition 
of  Americans  to  seek  tropical  climates,  even  within  their  own 
boundaries. 

Of  course,  the  influences  which  combine  to  control  the 
growth  of  any  one  section  or  community  are  very  complicated, 
but  an  important  measure  of  the  comfort  and  healthfulness 
of  a  region  is  the  relative  humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  by 
which  is  understood  the  amount  of  moisture  contained  in  it 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  required  to  saturate  it.  This 
amount  varies  with  the  temperature ;  the  higher  the  tempera- 
ture the  greater  the  amount  of  moisture  which  it  is  capable  of 
holding.  Since  climate  has  very  great  influence  upon  certain 
classes  of  diseases,  particularly  pulmonary  and  throat  com- 
plaints, the  question  of  the  distribution  of  population  in  ac- 
cordance with  mean  relative  humidity  becomes  important. 

The  atmosphere  is  heavily  charged  with  moisture  in  those 
regions  which  lie  along  our  coast,  whether  ocean,  gulf,  or 
lake.  The  Appalachian  Mountain  regions,  and  largely  those 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  have  an  atmosphere  heavily  charged  ; 
Vit  in  the  Piedmont  region,  east  of  the  Appalachian,  and  in 


32         Population  of  the  United  States.       [§  16 

the  upper  Mississippi  Valley,  the  moisture  is  less,  while  it 
diminishes  still  more  on  the  prairies  and  the  Great  Plains ; 
and  in  Utah,  Nevada,  southern  Arizona,  and  southeastern 
California,  the  minimum  amount  is  reached.  On  the  coast 
of  Oregon  and  Washington  the  atmosphere  is  more  highly 
charged  with  moisture  than  anywhere  else  within  our  territory. 
The  humidity  is  not  at  all  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  rain- 
fall ;  throughout  the  upper  lake  region,  while  the  atmosphere 
is  as  moist  as  that  of  the  State  of  Washington,  the  rainfall  is 
much  less,  and  the  coast  of  southern  California  has  as  moist  an 
atmosphere  as  the  Atlantic  coast,  but  a  deficient  rainfall. 

Nearly  all  the  population  breathe  an  atmosphere  containing 
65  to  75  per  cent  of  its  full  capacity  of  moisture ;  that  is,  the 
atmosphere  is  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  saturated.  In 
i  Sgo,1 5  7,036, ooo  out  of  62,622,250  were  found  under  these 
conditions.  The  number  of  inhabitants  living  in  a  drier 
atmosphere  was  comparatively  trifling,  numbering  in  1890  less 
than  two  millions.  In  the  moister  atmosphere  were  found 
larger  numbers  scattered  along  the  Gulf  coast  and  the  shores 
of  Washington  and  Oregon.  The  most  rapid  increase  has 
been  found  at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  scale,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  more  arid  region,  where  the  population  has  nearly 
doubled  during  each  of  the  last  two  periods,  showing  that 
great  areas  that  are  not  particularly  favoured  by  the  elements 
are  gradually  being  redeemed  through  the  enterprise  that 
marks  our  modern  industrial  era. 

1  The  distribution  of  population  relative  to  humidity  was  not  discussed 
in  the  reports  of  the  Twelfth  Census. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   STATUS   OF   THE    POPULATION   OF   THE   UNITED 
STATES. 

17.  References. 

Same  as  preceding  chapter.  Interesting  diagrams  and  maps  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Ninth  Census  (1870),  Tenth  Census  (1880),  Eleventh  Census 
^1890),  and  Twelfth  Census  (1900),  in  the  volumes  on  Population.  The 
pyramid  diagram  opposite  lias  been  drawn  especially  for  this  work. 
The  source  from  which  most  of  the  statistics  in  this  chapter  come  is  the 
Twelfth  Census,  Keport  on  Population,  Parts  I.  and  II.,  and  the  Atlas  of 
the  Twelfth  Census.  See  also  Richmond  Mayo-Smith,  Statistics  and 
Sociology. 

18.  The  Proportions  of  the  Sexes. 

We  have  now  to  consider  how  population  in  the  United 
States  is  divided  between  the  sexes,  what  are  the  numbers  ot 
children  and  young  people  in  comparison  with  adults,  the 
potential  voting  and  fighting  groups  and  the  grouping  into 
families. 

Of  the  aggregate  population  June  i,  1900  (76,303,387), 
there  were  39,059,242  males  and  37,244,145  females,  an 
excess  of  1,815,097  males;  that  is,  the  males  constituted 
51.2  per  cent  and  the  females  48.8  per  cent  of  the  total 
population.  This  has  been  about  the  proportion  for  many 
decades,  but  it  is  a  proportion  peculiar  to  the  United  States, 
for  in  most  other  countries  these  percentages  are  practically 
reversed.  The  excess  of  males  in  the  United  States  is  due 
largely  to  immigration.  Where  there  is  little  or  no  interfer- 
ence in  the  natural  increase,  either  by  immigration  or  emigra- 
tion, wars  or  other  abnormal  causes,  the  proportion  of  the 
sexes  is  usually  quite  equal,  even  in  the  United  States,  females 
3  33 


34  Status  of  the  Population.  [§  18 

being  slightly  in  excess  of  males ;  but  among  our  immigrants, 
males  are  generally  in  excess  of  females  in  the  proportion  of 
little  more  than  2  to  i. 

The  proportions  of  men  and  women  have  not  been  invari- 
able during  the  last  thirty  years.  The  mortality  due  to  the 
Civil  War  caused  a  diminution  of  six-tenths  of  one  per  cent  in 
the  per  cent  of  males  of  the  whole  population ;  but  between 
1870  and  ]8So,  1880  and  1890,  and  1890  and  1900,  the  per 
cent  of  males  again  increased  to  about  the  normal  ratio  of  that 
stated  for  1860.  Reducing  the  number  to  ratios  and  avoiding 
percentages,  it  is  found  that  in  the  United  States  as  a  whole 
there  were  in  1870,  97,801  females  to  every  100,000  males; 
in  1880  there  were  96,644;  in  1900,  95,353  females. 

There  are,  of  course,  great  variations  in  the  proportions  in 
different  parts  of  the  United  States  ;  thus,  for  instance,  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  only  47.4  per  cent  of  the  total  population 
are  males;  in  Massachusetts  they  constitute  48.7  per  cent ;  in 
New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and 
Vermont  they  are  nearly  equal  to  the  females  ;  and  in  Connecti- 
cut and  New  Jersey  and  in  the  North  Atlantic  division  as  a  whole 
the  proportions  are  equal.  The  percentages  are  equal  for  the 
South  Atlantic  division,  but  vary  in  the  States.  The  North 
Central  division  shows  51.6  for  males  and  48.4  for  females, 
and  the  South  Central  division  5 1  per  cent  for  males  and  49 
for  females.  The  extreme  is  reached  in  the  Western  division, 
where  the  males  constitute  56.2  per  cent  and  the  females  only 

43.8  per  cent  of  the  total  population ;  in  Montana  61.6  males 
and  38.4  females ;  Wyoming,  62.9  males,  37.1   females;  and 
Nevada  60.5  males,  39.5  females.     Hawaii  has  69.1  males  and 

30.9  females. 

These  differences  are  due  to  causes  easily  explainable.  The 
Atlantic  divisions  form  an  old,  settled  region,  whence  for  many 
decades  adventurous  persons,  in  large  proportion  males,  have 
regularly  tended  westward  ;  and  although  in  the  northeastern 
States  the  places  of  such  emigrants  have  been  filled  to  some 
extent  by  foreign  immigration,  the  variation  has  not  been 


§18]  Proportions  of  the  Sexes.  35 

entirely  overcome.  Had  it  not  been  for  such  immigration, 
however,  the  differences  would  be  more  emphatically  marked. 
The  manufacturing  centres  of  the  northeastern  States  have 
attracted  not  only  males  from  other  countries,  but  also  large 
numbers  of  women,  partly  domestic  servants  and  partly  factory 
employees. 

The  same  cause  which  has  reduced  the  proportion  of  males 
in  the  Atlantic  States  has  increased  it  in  the  central  and  west- 
ern States.  In  the  North  Central  division  and  in  the  Western 
division  the  differences  must  be  ascribed  to  foreign  immi- 
gration and  migrations  from  the  East,  which  have  tended 
to  increase  still  further  the  proportion  of  males  in  the  total 
population. 

In  the  South  Atlantic  division  different  conditions  are  found 
to  prevail.  Foreign  immigration  to  the  States  constituting 
this  division  has  been  slight  and  not  sufficient  to  affect  the 
constitution  of  the  population  as  regards  sex ;  for  the  sexes 
are  found  almost  equally  divided  in  1850  and  in  1860,  while  in 
1870  the  proportion  of  males  diminished  1.13  per  cent,  prob- 
ably on  account  of  the  Civil  War.  Since  then,  however,  the 
proportion  of  males  has  increased,  and  the  numbers  of  the  two 
sexes  were  exactly  equal  in  1900.  The  States  of  the  South 
Atlantic  division,  however,  exhibit  some  variety. 

Still  other  conditions  have  prevailed  in  the  North  Central 
division.  In  1850  many  of  the  States  composing  it  were  upon 
the  frontier,  but  during  the  last  fifty  or  sixty  years  they  have 
assumed  the  conditions  of  our  older  settled  communities.  As 
a  rule,  there  has  been  comparatively  little  migration  from  these 
States  to  other  States,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  has 
been  a  large  amount  of  migration  to  them,  both  from  States 
farther  east  and  from  abroad,  the  numbers  of  the  immigrants 
being  disproportionately  male. 

The  South  Central  division,  which  comprises  a  group  of 
States  extending  from  Alabama,  a  well-settled  State  even  in 
1850,  to  Texas,  which  was  admitted  to  the  Union  in  1845,  is 
a  section  which  has  received  little  foreign  immigration,  but 


36  Status  of  the  Population.  [§  18 

which  has  been  filled  up  very  largely  by  immigration  from  the 
South  Atlantic  States  and  by  natural  increase.  As  might  be 
supposed,  this  division  in  1850  contained  a  considerable  ex- 
cess of  the  male  element. 

The  great  Western  division  consists  of  States  and  Territories 
of  more  recent  existence  and  settlement.  As  extreme  frontier 
States  they  have  been  in  a  growing  condition.  In  1850  this 
division  was  peopled  with  3  males  to  i  female  ;  in  ten  years 
the  proportion  had  declined  to  2  to  i,  while  in  1870  and  1880 
more  than  6  out  of  10  were  males,  but  in  1900  the  proportion 
of  males  was  56.2  to  43.8  females.  In  1900  the  least  propor- 
tion of  males  in  all  the  States  and  Territories  comprising  the 
Western  division  was  in  Utah,  where  51.2  per  cent  were  males. 
As  far  back  as  1860  it  is  found  that  the  population  of  Colorado 
included  95.37  per  cent,  and  Nevada  89.50  per  cent  of  males. 
California  in  1850,  at  the  beginning  of  the  gold  period,  contained 
only  7.58  per  cent  of  women.  These  conditions  of  the  north- 
western States  in  1900  were  more  nearly  normal,  although  in  that 
year  the  percentage  of  males  in  the  Western  division  was  56.2 
as  against  58.7  in  1890.  Family  life,  the  growing  up  of  chil- 
dren, will  eventually  go  far  to  equalise  the  proportion  of  sexes. 

In  the  United  Kingdom  the  males  constitute  48.46  and  the 
females  5  1.54  per  cent  of  the  total  population  ;  in  France  the 
percentages  are,  respectively,  49.65  and  50.35  ;  in  Austria, 
48.92  and  51.08;  in  Denmark,  48.7031^51.30;  in  Germany, 
49.20  and  50.80;  in  Spain,  48.28  and  51.72;  in  Sweden, 
48.79  and  51.21  ;  in  Norway,  48.55  and  51.45. 

19.     Distribution  by  Ages. 

The  ground-work  for  some  necessary  studies  of  factory  con- 
ditions and  domestic  service  is  to  be  found  in  the  relative  pro- 
portion of  the  sexes.  The  question  of  the  relative  number  of 
children  affects  the  whole  problem  of  education,  child  saving, 
and  reformation,  child  labour,  overcrowding,  the  sweating  sys- 
tem, and  other  important  phases  of  sociology ;  so  that  a  study 
of  the  classification  of  the  population  by  ages  become  essen- 


Ages 


37 


tial.  Unfortunately,  however,  when  the  attempt  is  made  to 
distribute  the  population  by  single  years  of  age,  the  results  are 
not  very  satisfactory,  on  account  of  the  tendency  on  the  part  of 
the  majority  of  people  to  give  their  age  in  round  numbers,  as 
25,  or  30,  or  35,  instead  of  the  exact  age.  This  is  particu- 
larly true  in  great  manufacturing  centres,  where  there  is  a 
large  percentage  of  foreign  population.  The  result  is  a  con- 
centration upon  quinquennial  periods,  which  has  been  noticed 
at  every  enumeration,  whether  in  this  or  in  other  countries,  and 
probably  no  efforts  of  enumerators  to  secure  specific,  correct 
answers  will  remove  the  universal  tendency  to  give  the  nearest 
five  or  ten  year  period.  Hence  quinquennial  periods  form 
the  basis  of  the  diagram  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 

The  average  age  of  both  sexes  in  1900  was  26.3  as  com- 
pared with  24.13  in  1880,  that  for  males  and  females,  respec- 
tively, being  nearly  equal  for  the  last  three  censuses  ;  that  for 
the  native  born  of  both  sexes  in  1900  was  24;  for  foreign 
born,  40.2  ;  for  native  white  population,  24.2  ;  for  foreign 
white,  40.3  ;  for  total  coloured,  23.5  ;  negroes,  23.2  ;  Chinese, 
40;  Japanese,  26.5.  The  increase  in  1900  is  due  in  part  to 
the  loss  in  proportion  of  young  persons  among  the  native  ele- 
ments, and,  further,  to  the  large  proportion  of  adults  in  the 
foreign-born  population.  This  rise  in  average  age  has  long 
been  going  on.  Just  what  the  increase  has  been  in  a  century 
cannot  be  stated  definitely,  but  the  rise  in  the  reasonable 
expectation  of  human  life  is  one  of  the  triumphs  of  modern 
sanitary  and  medical  science. 

Of  the  total  population  in  1900  (76,303,387),  9,189,448, 
or  1  2  per  cent  of  the  whole,  were  under  5  years  of  age.  The 
number  over  5  and  under  10  years  was  nearly  the  same,  being 
8,889,339,  or  n-64  per  cent  of  all.  The  next  stratum,  from 
10  to  14  years  of  age,  ought  naturally  to  be  less,  and  really 
shows  some  falling  off,  the  number  being  8,091,951,  or  10.6 
per  cent.  Then  there  are  found  two  other  quinquennial 
periods  of  almost  equal  proportions.  In  nearly  all  other 
countries  the  next  two  strata  are  much  smaller,  but  in  the 


38  Status  of  the  Population.  [§19 

United  States,  owing  to  the  great  immigration  of  young  persons, 
those  from  15  to  19  years,  inclusive,  numbered  7,577,324,  and 
those  from  20  to  24  years,  inclusive,  7,402,483  ;  the  productive 
age  may  be  considered  from  15  to  45  ;  within  this  range  there 
were  36,406,108,  or  47.7  per  cent  of  the  whole  population. 

To  learn  the  number  of  persons  of  school  age,  an  arbitrary 
classification  must  be  resorted  to,  for  the  term  "  school  age  " 
varies  in  different  States  and  Territories,  and  of  course  there 
can  be  no  school  age  determined  by  national  law.  While  the 
term  has  been  used  in  various  national  census  reports,  it  is 
perplexing,  since  its  limitation  is  not  always  perfectly  clear, 
some  States  beginning  the  count  at  four  years,  and  others 
including  all  up  to  twenty-one  years.  In  1900  there  were 
26,099,788  persons  from  five  to  twenty  years  of  age  ;  this 
number  comprising  21,573,492  from  five  to  seventeen  years, 
and  4,526,296  from  eighteen  to  twenty  years  of  age. 

The  males  of  militia  age,  including  all  from  eighteen  to  forty- 
four,  inclusive,  numbered  in  1900,  16,360,363.  This,  then,  is 
the  potential  military  force  of  the  United  States.  Of  this  number 
13,130,280,  or  80.25  per  cent  of  all  males  of  militia  age,  were 
native  born,  and  3,228,083,  or  17.75  per  cent,  were  of  foreign 
birth.  From  1861  to  1865,  out  of  a  population  less  than  half 
as  large  as  at  present,  more  than  3,000,000  different  individuals 
were  at  one  time  or  another  enrolled  in  either  the  Northern  or 
the  Southern  army,  or  more  than  half  the  available  men. 

The  potential  voters  of  the  country  are  to  be  found  in  all 
males  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  upward  ;  and  in  1900  there 
were  21,329,819,  the  native-born  males  of  voting  age  number- 
ing 16,227,285,  being  76.1  per  cent  of  the  whole,  while  23.9 
per  cent,  or  5,102,534,  were  of  foreign  birth.  The  native 
white  of  native  parentage,  who  may  be  classed  as  of  the  Amer- 
ican stock,  constituted  49.9  per  cent  of  the  voting  strength  of 
the  population,  leaving,  therefore,  nearly  one-half  the  possible 
voters  to  be  classified  as  either  native  white  of  foreign  parent- 
age, foreign  white,  or  coloured.  The  total  vote  in  the  presiden- 
tial election  of  1900  was  13,961,566,  or  65.4  per  cent  of  the 
estimated  number  of  voters. 


PROPORTION  OF  ALIENSTO  TOTAL  FOREIGN  BORN  MALESOF  VOTINGAGE 
IN  EACH  SPECIFIED  NATIVITY  1900. 

PER  CENT 
0                   10                 20                30                 40                 50                 60                  70                 80 

HUNGARY.  

RUSSIA 

WEST  INDIES 

CANADA(ENGUISH 

BELGIUM 

I 

••m 

l^BM 
^^H 

mmmm 
leproc 

E 

= 

•• 
•• 
•• 
^m 
*_ 

! 

•• 

ENGLAND 

SWITZERLAND.- 
BOHEMIA  _, 
SCOTLAND  
SWEDEN  
HOLLAND  
DENMARK  
IRELAND  
NORWAY.  
GERMANY  
WALES  
(1 

Luced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.; 

§ 


Ages. 


39 


For  two  decades,  so  far  as  Federal  statistics  are  concerned, 
one  is  able  to  classify  the  population  relative  to  citizenship  of 
foreign-born  males  of  voting  age.  The  three  categories  are  : 
aliens,  or  foreign-born  men  not  yet  naturalised  ;  foreign-born 
males  of  twenty-one  years  or  upwards,  who  have  been  natural- 
ised ;  and  native-born  males.  The  relative  proportions  are  of 
great  and  increasing  importance  in  view  of  the  constantly  in- 
creasing body  of  foreign  born  that  is  being  added  each  year  to 
our  population,  especially  as  the  greater  proportion  consists  of 
males  of  adult  age.  These  facts  show  the  extent  to  which  the 
potential  voter  of  foreign  birth  enters  into  our  political  affairs. 
For  the  foreign-born  men  of  voting  age  the  following  table 
shows  their  status  as  regards  citizenship  :  — 


Status. 

Number. 

Per  Cent. 

Aliens     

1,070,126 

21  O 

2  862  546 

t-6  i 

First  naturalisation  papers  filed    .     .     . 
Unknown    

416,863 
7i;2,Q.QQ 

8.2 
14  7 

Total    .          ...          

?,IO2   Z,T.d. 

IOO  OO 

Somewhat  more  than  one-half  of  the  adult  males  of  foreign 
birth  living  in  1900  have  become  naturalised  and  are  full  citi- 
zens of  this  country.  Of  the  whole  number,  more  than  one- 
twelfth  have  taken  out  their  first  naturalisation  papers,  thus 
indicating  their  intention  of  becoming  citizens,  while  for  one- 
twelfth  no  information  regarding  citizenship  could  be  obtained. 
These  three  classes  combined  represent  very  nearly  four-fifths  of 
all  the  foreign-born  males  of  voting  age.  Over  one-fifth,  there- 
fore, are  alien  males  of  voting  age,  but  who  have  not  seen  fit 
to  take  any  steps  necessary  to  acquire  citizenship.  In  many 
States  and  large  cities,  especially  in  New  York  and  Chicago, 
the  proportions  of  foreign  born  voters  are  much  larger  than  the 


4o 


Status  of  the  Population. 


[§  19 


average.  In  the  city  of  New  York, 
of  the  males  of  voting  age,  —  that  is, 
twenty-one  years  and  over,  —  the 
native  white  constitute  43.97  per 
cent,  the  foreign  white  53.56  per 
cent,  and  the  coloured  2.47  per  cent. 
In  Chicago  the  foreign  white  voting 
population  is  55.17  per  cent  of  the 
whole  ;  in  Philadelphia,  33.05  ;  in  San 
Francisco,  43.49  ;  in  St.  Louis,  32.14  ; 
in  Boston,  46.03,  and  in  Baltimore, 
20.89  Per  cent ;  and  all  these  pro- 
portions would  be  larger  if  only  men 
from  thirty  to  fifty  years  of  age  were 
considered.  It  will  be  seen  by  these 
figures  that  the  influence  of  the 
foreign-born  voter  varies  in  the  large 
cities.  Some  of  the  smaller  cities  of 
the  Union  would  show  as  great,  and 
in  some  cases  greater,  concentration 
of  the  foreign  vote. 

20.   Families. 

The  children  of  the  country  and 
their  relations  to  the  rest  of  the  com- 
munity are  a  powerful  factor  in  the 
next  sociological  element,  the  family. 
The  statistics  of  families  and  dwellings 
as  shown  by  the  .census  offer  oppor- 
tunities for  the  study  of  social  condi- 
tions in  some  very  important  direc- 
tions, such  as  the  number  of  families 
and  persons  to  a  dwelling,  and  the 
average  size  of  families.  Such  statis- 
tics1 enable  one  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion whether  families,  either  of  native 


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United  States 

§  21]  Families  and  Dwellings.  41 

or  foreign  origin,  are  holding  their  former  average  size,  and  to 
determine  whether  family  life  is  gaining  or  losing  in  healthful- 
ness  and  permanency. 

The  number  of  families  increased,  from  1890  to  1900,  27.56 
per  cent;  from  1880  to  1890,  27.59  per  cent;  from  1870  to 
1880,  21.22  per  cent;  from  1860  to  1870,  45.45  percent,  and 
from  185010  1860,  44.82  percent.  The  population  increased, 
from  1890  to  1900,  20.7  per  cent;  from  1880  to  1890,  24.86 
percent;  from  1870  to  1880,  30.08  percent;  from  1860  to 
1870,  22.63  Per  cent  >  and  from  1850  to  1860,  35.58  per  cent. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  census  definition  of  "the  family" 
comprehends  not  only  the  real,  normal  family,  as  it  is  com- 
monly understood,  —  that  is,  consisting  of  the  husband,  wife, 
children,  and  immediate  dependants  like  relatives  and  ser- 
vants, —  but  it  comprehends  all  persons  living  alone  where 
they  maintain  their  own  establishments,  and  all  larger  aggrega- 
tions of  people  subject  to  one  common  supervision,  such  as  the 
inmates  of  hotels,  hospitals,  prisons,  asylums,  etc.  Practically, 
it  makes  but  little  difference  in  the  proportions,  so  far  as  great 
bodies  of  people  are  concerned,  whether  the  families  are. con- 
sidered on  the  basis  of  the  actual  normal  family  or  on  the 
ordinary  census  basis ;  for  large  aggregations  are  offset  by 
many  isolated  individuals.  It  would  not  do,  however,  to  con- 
sider this  as  a  rule  in  small  aggregations  of  people.  Taking  a 
college  town,  Wellesley,  the  average  size  of  the  normal  family 
in  1895  was  4.66  ;  but,  including  Wellesley  College,  it  was 
5.73,  or  an  increase  in  the  average  of  more  than  one  person. 
The  question  of  the  size  of  the  family  is  more  fully  discussed 
in  Chapter  V.  (§  36). 

21.   Proportion  of  Families  and  Inmates  to  Dwellings. 

In  discussing  the  number  of  families  and  their  composition, 
it  is  always  interesting  to  study  the  relation  of  persons  to  dwell- 
ings. A  dwelling  for  census  purposes  means  any  building  or 
place  of  abode  in  which  any  person  was  living  at  the  time  the 
census  was  taken,  whether  the  abode  was  a  room  above  a  ware- 
house or  factory,  a  loft  above  a  stable,  a  wigwam  on  the  out- 


Status  of  the   Population.  [§  21 


skirts  of  a  settlement,  a  hotel,  a 
boarding  or  lodging  house,  a  large 
tenement-house,  or  the  dwelling- 
house  ordinarily  considered  as  such. 
On  this  basis  the  number  of  dwellings 
in  1900  has  increased  25.66  per  cent 
over  the  number  in  1890.  In  1900 
there  were  14,430,145  dwellings  and 
16,187,715  families,  there  thus  being 
10.9  per  cent  more  families  than 
dwellings,  while  in  1890  the  excess 
was  10.51  per  cent,  and  in  1850  it 
was  7.02  per  cent.1 

An  examination  of  the  statistics 
proves  that  the  number  of  persons  to 
a  dwelling  is  constantly  decreasing, 
although  slightly,  thus  indicating  in- 
creased comfort  on  the  part  of  the 
population  as  a  whole.  In  1850 
there  were  5 .94  persons  to  each 
dwelling  in  the  country ;  while  in 
1900  the  average  was  5.3.  In  the 
West,  however,  there  was  an  increase 
from  4.27  in  1850  to  5.05  in  1890, 
since  which  time  the  number  has  de- 
creased to  4.7.  This  result,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  increased  size  of 
families,  is  natural  in  new  settlements. 
While  the  general  results  of  the  fore- 
going table  are  unquestioned,  there 
are  reasons  for  supposing  that  in 
1850  and  1860  the  number  of  dwell- 
ings was  understated,  especially  in 
the  Southern  States. 

The  excess  of  families  over  dwel- 
lings in  1850,  1880,  and  1900.  both 


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§   2!] 


Families  and   Dwellings. 


43 


as  regards   number   and  per  cent,  is  shown  in  the  following 
brief  table  :  — 


1850. 

1880. 

1900. 

Geographical 

Divisions. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

North  Atlantic  . 

192,973 

13.88 

593,559 

24.42 

1,042,272 

29.10 

South  Atlantic  . 

9,261 

i-75 

79,868 

5-77 

95,061 

4-73 

North  Central   . 

23,308 

2.56 

216,283 

•      6.82 

466,842 

8.92 

South  Central   . 

9>4S7 

1.94 

73,886 

4-55 

98.SIS 

3-59 

Western    .     .     . 

874 

2.09 

26,508 

7.67 

54,880 

6.26 

United  States 

235,903 

7.02 

990,104 

1  1.  06 

1,757,57° 

12.71 

The  following  summary  by  geographical  divisions  shows  the 
total  number  of  persons  to  a  dwelling,  from  i  person  to  1 1 
and  over : — 


Geographical 
Divisions. 

Persons  to  a  Dwell  ng. 

i  person. 

2  to  6  persons. 

7  to  10  persons. 

ii  persons 
and  over. 

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North  Atlantic  . 

3-1 

o-5 

69.7 

46.6 

19.7 

26.9 

7-5 

26.0 

South  Atlantic  . 

4-4 

0.8 

67-5 

51.8 

24-3 

37-7 

3-8 

9-7 

North  Central  . 

3-7 

0.7 

73-3 

57-2 

19.4 

3°-7 

3-6 

11.4 

South  Central 

4.2 

0.8 

68.4 

52-9 

23-9 

37-4 

3-5 

89 

Western  .     .     . 

11.7 

2-5 

68.9 
70.4 

56.1 

1  6.0 

27-3 

3-4 

14.1 

United  States 

4.2 

0.8 

52-6 

20.8 

3,7 

4.6 

'49 

44  Status  of  the  Population.  [§  21 

The  number  of  dwellings  having  one  person  only  represents 
nearly  one  twenty-third  of  the  whole  number  of  dwellings  in 
the  United  States ;  while  the  population  of  such  dwellings  is 
but  one  one-hundred  and  twenty-fifth  of  the  total  population. 
Dwellings  containing  two  to  six  persons  represent  over  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  dwellings,  and  over  one- half  of  the  whole 
population.  Four  and  six-tenths  per  cent  of  the  dwellings 
contain  more  than  ten  persons,  and  represent  nearly  one- 
seventh  of  the  total  population.  These  figures  will  be  found 
useful  hereafter  in  discussing  tenement-house  problems  (§§  68- 
69  :  81-82). 

22.   Dwellings  in  Cities. 

Some  light  is  thrown  upon  the  whole  question  of  the  hous- 
ing of  the  poor  by  a  study  of  the  dwellings  in  cities.  Ex- 
amining the  results  in  this  direction  for  thirty-eight  cities,  or 
those  having  a  population  of  100,000  and  over,  we  find  that 
there  were  in  Greater  New  York  at  the  time  of  the  last  Federal 
census  a  total  of  249,991  occupied  dwellings.  About  64  per 
cent  of  these  contain  from  i  to  10  persons,  and  a  little  less 
than  36  per  cent  contain  more  than  10  persons.  The  popu- 
lation represented  by  dwellings  in  Greater  New  York  having 
10  persons  or  less  is  916,812,  or  more  than  one-fourth  of  the 
whole  ;  while  the  population  represented  by  dwellings  having 
more  than  10  occupants  is  2,520,390,  or  73.3  per  cent  of  the 
entire  population.  Of  course  many  large  and  sumptuous 
hotels  and  apartment  houses  are  included  in  these  totals. 

The  population  of  Chicago  is  about  evenly  divided  between 
the  two  classes  of  dwellings,  48.9  per  cent  living  in  dwellings 
having  from  i  to  10  occupants,  and  51.1  per  cent  living 
in  dwellings  containing  more  than  10  persons  each  on  the 
average. 

In  Philadelphia  a  very  different  condition  of  affairs  is  seen. 
Out  of  a  total  of  241,589  dwellings,  which  is  almost  equal  to  the 
number  of  dwellings  in  Greater  New  York,  and  about  24  per 
cent  more  than  in  Chicago,  231,511,  or  95.8  per  cent,  of  the 


§  22]  Dwellings  in   Cities.  45 

dwellings  contain  10  persons  or  less;  and  only  10,078  dwell- 
ings, or  4.2  per  cent  of  the  whole,  contain  more  than  10 
persons.  Relative  to  population,  1,128,710  out  of  a  total  of 
1,293,697  people  in  Philadelphia  live  in  dwellings  containing 
10  persons  or  less,  and  this  is  86.3  per  cent  of  the  total  popu- 
lation ;  while  over  one-eighth  of  the  total  population,  or  in 
round  numbers,  164,987,  live  in  dwellings  having  more  than 
10  occupants. 

This  subject  is  one  which  the  public  so  much  desires  to 
study,  and  is  generally  so  important,  that  special  attention  is 
called  to  a  table,  to  be  found  on  page  clxxx  of  Part  II.,  Reports 
on  the  Population  of  the  Twelfth  Census,  showing  the  facts 
concerning  the  number  of  persons  in  dwellings,  classified  as  to 
the  number  in  each,  in  groups ;  that  is,  the  number  of  dwell- 
ings having  from  i  to  10  persons,  from  n  to  15  persons,  from 
1 6  to  20  persons,  and  21  persons  and  over.  They  bear  par- 
ticularly upon  the  question  of  overcrowding.  From  them  it  is 
found  that  in  Greater  New  York  44,521  dwellings,  or  17.8  per 
cent  of  all  the  dwellings,  had  more  than  20  persons  to  each 
dwelling,  and  contained  in  the  aggregate  1,871,817  persons, 
or  54.4  per  cent  of  its  total  population.  In  Fall  River  30.6, 
per  cent,  in  Brooklyn  borough  31.4  per  cent,  in  Jersey  City 
25.1  per  cent,  and  in  Cincinnati  16.1  per  cent  of  their  total 
population,  live  in  dwellings  containing  more  than  20  persons. 
The  per  cent  of  population  in  Chicago  living  in  dwellings  with 
more  than  20  persons  to  a  dwelling  is  17.9,  in  Worcester  16.9, 
in  Boston  14.6,  and  in  Newark  14. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
NATIVE   AND    FOREIGN    BORN. 

23.   References. 

Same  as  preceding  chapter ;  also  Frederick  L.  Hoffman,  Race  Traits 
and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro  (American  Economic  Association, 
Economic  Studies,  XL  Nos.  i,  2,  and  3);  W.  E.  B.  DuBois,  Philadelphia 
Negro;  studies  of  condition  of  negroes  in  Bulletins  of  United  States 
Department  of  Labor,  Nos.  10,  14,  22,  32,  35,  37,  38;  Richmond  Mayo- 
Smith,  Emigration  and  Immigration  ;  \V.  L.  Trenholm,  The  Southern 
States  ;  their  Social  and  Industrial  History,  Condition  and  Needs  (Jour- 
nal of  American  Social  Science  Association,  No.  IX.  78,  Jan.  1878)  ; 
Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  Practical  Essays,  No.  n.  On  the  question  of  im- 
migration (§  24)  the  Reports  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Immi- 
gration, and  the  Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the  Treasury 
Department  have  been  used.  Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population,  has 
been  the  authority. 

24.   Number  and  Nationality  of  Immigrants. 

The  preceding  chapters  have  shown  the  numbers  of  the 
population  of  the  United  States  ;  the  physical  conditions  under 
which  it  lives,  including  climate,  rainfall,  altitude,  and  tem- 
perature, and  distribution  relative  to  sex,  ages,  and  families, 
with  facts  concerning  dwellings.  The  next  step  is  to  deal  with 
the  origin  and  racial  characteristics  of  the  people. 

The  original  settlement  of  the  United  States  was  made  by 
settlers  coming  from  Great  Britain,  and  largely  from  England, 
According  to  the  historian  Bancroft,  the  colonies  in  1775  were 
inhabited  by  persons  "  one-fifth  of  whom  had  for  their  mother- 
tongue  some  other  language  than  the  English ;  "  these  persons 
were  chiefly  French,  Swedes,  Dutch,  and  Germans. 

Prior  to  1821  the  Government  took  no  account  of  immi- 
gration, but  from  that  year  on  the  statistics  of  immigration, 
as  collected  and  reported  by  the  Treasury  Department,  have 
furnished  the  facts  on  which  a  discussion  of  the  racial  char- 

46 


TfTT 


o     ~ 


Q. 

o 

DL 

z 
cc 
O 
DD 

Z 
C3 

LU 

cc 
O 


§24] 


Number  of  Immigrants. 


47 


acteristics  of  the  peo- 
ple must  be  based.  In 
addition  to  the  immi- 
gration returns,  the 
Federal  census  has  for 
many  years  furnished 
a  count  of  native  and 
foreign-born  persons, 
and  since  1880  has  in- 
cluded also  natives  hav- 
ing foreign  parentage. 

For  more  than  half 
a  century  immigration 
has  been  upon  an 
enormous  scale.  For 
many  years  prior  to 
1821  it  was  but  trif- 
ling in  amount  (esti- 
mated at  250,000)  ; 
it  was  not  until  about 
1844  that  immigration 
upon  a  considerable 
scale  set  it.  At  that 
time  the  succession 
of  famines  in  Ireland 
caused  an  exodus  from 
that  country,  the  vast 
body  of  the  emigra- 
tion coming  to  this 
country,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present 
there  has  been  a  very 
large  migration  across 
the  Atlantic. 

It  will  be  seen  by 
consulting  the  table  l 


O    m  «    -  00 


•a  N  "       ••»• 


. .  -I  .g 

.     .   O.    .  •;:    c 

j?  "         C-S  ."2 

i::!:%.:j:...| 

•«        c"    -S     y       ii  ,„  t; 

"•a    -'H  >./^  ra>^    •    •  S    .  rt-^  r  ° 
"c   ^-C1^    c   ^   ^  «         <u   rt       ~   rtt--^ 


48  Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§24 

that  the  immigration,  which  between  1831  and  1840  was  a 
little  short  of  600,000,  sprung  to  1,713,251  in  the  decade 
from  1841  to  1850,  and  thence  to  nearly  2,600,000  in  the  ten 
years  from  1851  to  1860.  There  was  a  slight  falling  off  in  the 
succeeding  decade,  owing  to  our  internal  disorders,  which  was 
made  up  between  1871  and  1880,  while  during  the  decade 
from  1 88 1  to  1890  immigration  was  unparalleled  in  amount, 
reaching  a  total  of  nearly  5,250,000,  almost  twice  as  large  as 
during  the  preceding  decade,  and  more  than  twice  that  of  any 
previous  ten  year  period  in  the  country's  history.  From  1891 
to  1900  the  immigrants  numbered  3,823,008.  The  total  since 
1821  is  19,250,665,  nearly  one-half  of  which  arrived  between 
1881  and  1900. 

From  the  Federal  statistics  of  immigration,  it  appears  that  the 
Irish  were  the  first  people  represented  in  considerable  num- 
bers among  our  immigrants ;  and  that  there  have  been  two 
maxima  of  their  contingent,  —  one  in  1851  to  1860,  and  one 
in  1 88 1  to  1890.  During  the  first  three  decades  their  number 
was  in  excess  of  that  of  any  other  nationality,  but  since  1860 
they  have  been  greatly  exceeded  in  number  by  the  Germans, 
and  of  late  years  even  by  Russians,  Poles,  Italians,  and 
Austrians. 

The  Germans,  starting  from  small  beginnings  in  the  first 
decade,  increased  rapidly  and  reached  nearly  a  million  in  the 
decade  from  1851  to  1860.  For  a  time  their  contingent  fell 
off  decidedly,  but  in  1881—90  they  again  increased  to  their 
maximum  of  nearly  a  million  and  a  half,  or  more  than  twice 
the  contribution  from  any  other  nationality.  Next  in  im- 
portance are  the  natives  of  England  and  Wales,  in  colonial 
times  the  principal  element,  but  in  1821-30  only  a  few 
thousand ;  they  have  increased  gradually  but  more  regu- 
larly until  in  the  decade  from  iSSi  to  1890  they  reached  a 
number  in  excess  of  the  Irish  and  second  only  to  the  Ger- 
mans. The  history  of  the  Scotch  immigration  has  been  very 
similar  to  that  of  the  English,  although  it  is  very  much  less 
in  amount. 


§  25]  Nationality  of  Immigrants.  49 

The  immigration  of  the  French,  though  never  great,  and 
apparently  diminishing  at  present,  has  been  more  regular 
than  that  of  any  other  nationality.  Immigration  from  the 
Netherlands,  while  it  has  increased  with  some  regularity,  has 
not  yet  reached  great  importance,  nor  does  it  appear  likely 
to  do  so.  Immigration  from  the  British  Provinces  of  North 
America  was  notable  in  the  decade  from  1841  to  1850,  and 
since  then  it  has  increased  at  a  very  rapid  rate,  reaching 
nearly  400,000  in  the  decade  from  1871  to  1880,  and  still 
more  in  the  five  years  from  1881  to  1885.  In  all  probability 
were  the  statistics  of  immigration  of  these  people  available  for 
the  entire  decade,  it  would  be  found  that  fully  1,000,000  of 
them  had  crossed  our  border.  Several  races  are  represented 
in  this  movement ;  the  French-Canadians  are  the  largest 
element. 

Danish,  Norwegian,  and  Swedish  immigrants  did  not  begin 
to  come  in  any  considerable  number  until  1861  ;  but  since 
that  time,  and  especially  during  the  decade  from  1881  to  1890 
they  increased  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  The  Russians  and 
Poles  were  almost  unknown  in  the  statistics  of  immigration 
prior  to  1871,  and  in  the  decade  following  that  year  immi- 
grants of  that  nationality  numbered  only  about  50,000,  while 
during  the  decade  from  1891  to  1900  their  number  increased 
to  more  than  half  a  million,  and  the  increase  is  still  maintained. 
The  case  is  almost  precisely  similar  with  the  Hungarians  and 
Italians.  Of  these  only  a  few  scores  or  hundreds  reached  our 
shores  in  each  year  prior  to  1871.  In  the  decade  following, 
these  nationalities  first  appeared  in  numbers  of  importance, 
while  in  the  decade  from  1891  to  1900  the  number  of  Italians 
alone  increased  to  645,961. 

25.   Relative  Immigration  of  Various  Races. 

The  absolute  figures  do  not  bring  out  distinctly  the  varying 
percentages  of  the  various  races  from  1821  to  1900.  The 
great  elements  of  immigration  have  been  the  British  Empire 
(including  England,  Scotland,  Wales,  and  Ireland),  Ger- 


50  Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§25 

many,  Scandinavia,  and  the  Slav  races.  In  the  first  decade 
of  which  there  is  a  record  (1821-30)  the  British  contribution 
was  53  per  cent  of  the  whole  (35  per  cent  of  the  whole, 
Irish)  ;  the  French  contribution  was  only  6  per  cent.  In 
1831-40  the  total  British  contribution  was  47  per  cent  (but 
the  Irish  remained  at  35  per  cent),  and  the  Germans  furnished 
25  per  cent.  In  1841-50  the  Irish  furnished  46  per  cent, 
other  British  elements  15  per  cent,  and  the  Germans  still  25 
per  cent.  The  decade  from  1851  to  1860  marks  the  first 
distinct  change  in  the  proportions,  the  Germans  contributing 
37  per  cent  of  the  whole,  the  Irish  remaining  at  35  per  cent, 
other  British  elements  being  1 7  per  cent.  As  the  total  num- 
bers were  very  large,  the  increase  of  other  than  British  elements 
was  the  more  significant.  The  Chinese,  almost  unknown  in 
the  previous  history  of  immigration,  first  assumed  importance 
during  this  decade. 

In  the  decade  from  1861  to  1870  Germans  about  held  their 
own  at  34  per  cent,  and  the  importance  of  the  Irish  relative  to 
the  other  elements  still  further  diminished,  the  proportion 
having  fallen  to  19  per  cent,  while  that  of  the  other  British 
elements  reached  26  per  cent.  In  that  decade  the  immigra- 
tion from  Norway  and  Sweden  first  became  important,  though 
it  amounted  to  only  5  per  cent  of  the  total,  and  was  a  little 
exceeded  by  that  from  the  British  North  American  Provinces. 

In  the  next  decade,  that  from  1871  to  1880,  still  further 
changes  in  the  constitution  of  the  immigration  are  to  be  noted. 
The  Irish  contingent  still  further  diminished  to  only  16  per 
cent  of  the  total,  and  was  slightly  exceeded  by  the  natives  of 
England  and  Wales.  The  British  again  exceeded  the  Germans, 
who  constituted  but  26  per  cent  of  all.  The  British  Americans 
constituted  14  per  cent,  and  the  natives  of  Norway  and  Sweden 
constituted  8  per  cent.  In  this  decade  several  new  races  be- 
gan to  assume  importance,  the  Russians  and  Poles  constituting 
2  per  cent  of  the  immigration,  the  Hungarians  nearly  3  per 
cent,  and  the  Italians  2  per  cent. 

In  the  next  decade,  from  1881  to  1890,  the  changes  thus 


§  25]        Relative  Immigration  of  Races.          5 1 

portended  were  still  greater.  Of  the  enormous  number  of 
immigrants,  5,246,613,  only  12.5  per  cent,  or  one-eighth,  were 
from  Ireland,  and  only  15.5  per  cent  were  from  other  parts  of 
the  United  Kingdom.  The  proportion  from  Germany  more 
than  held  its  own,  being  28  per  cent.  Of  Norwegians  and 
Swedes  the  proportion  rose  to  n  per  cent.  Russians  and 
Poles,  Hungarians  and  Italians,  together  constituted  18  per 
cent. 

During  the  last  thirty  years  the  proportion  of  Irish  has 
decidedly  fallen  off;  that  of  the  English  and  Scotch  has 
diminished.  The  German  immigration  has  nearly  held  its 
own.  The  immigration  of  Danes,  Swedes,  and  Norwegians 
has  decreased  in  recent  years,  while  the  increase  of  Hunga- 
rians, Poles,  Russians,  Italians,  and  Bohemians  is  so  rapid  that 
should  it  continue  at  the  present  rate  these  elements  will  soon 
outnumber  all  others  in  the  annual  incoming. 

The  following  statement  shows"  the  countries  from  which  the 
principal  elements  of  the  total  immigration  of  the  past  80  years 
have  been  derived  ;  but  it  should  be  noted  that  many  persons 
born  in  Ireland  have  been  included  in  the  number  of  im- 


Countries. 

Number 
From  1821-1900. 

England  and  Wales     

j 

Scotland     .          . 

>  6  1  7  <;  1  Q4. 

Great  Britain,  not  specified      

7Q'J,  C76 

Germany    .          ....          .          

C.O47  872 

Norway  and  Sweden   

1,250,860 

TSritish  North-American  Provinces    

I,O4Q,74.i; 

Q77  676 

Italy  .          .               

I.O74  6lO 

An  I   ^vS 

Russia,  including  Poland      

8815601: 

China     

71  7,  ^86 

Switzerland     

•j  •j>*j 

2O4  Oil 

I  O4  8^"? 

T7T.77O 

7O8  148 

Total       

JQ   1  CQ  6(5  C 

52 


Native  and  Foreign  Born. 


migrants  coming  from  England,  "  Great  Britain  not  specified," 
and  the  British  American  Provinces. 

Out  of  a  total  immigration  since  1821  of  19,250,665,  not 
less  than  32.07  per  cent  has  been  derived  from  the  United 
Kingdom  and  26.2  per  cent  from  Germany.  The  United 
Kingdom  and  Germany  together  have  supplied  58.27  per 
cent,  or  nearly  three-fifths,  of  all  immigration  to  this  country. 
The  Austro-Hungarians,  Russians,  Poles,  and  Italians  have 
thus  far  contributed  15  per  cent  of  all  immigration. 

26.    Nativity  of  Living  Population. 

The  general  nativity  of  the  living  population  must  be  shown 
from  census  reports,  which  have  included  data  on  this  sub- 
ject since  1850.  Of  the  population  in  1900  (76,303,387), 
those  of  native  birth  numbered  65,843,302,  and  there  were 
10,460,085  persons  of  foreign  birth;  that  is,  of  the  19,250,665 
immigrants  prior  to  1900  there  were  10,460,085  then  living. 
The  following  table  shows  the  number  and  per  cent  of  persons 
of  native  and  foreign  birth  at  each  census  since  and  including 
that  of  1850  :  — 


Census  Years. 

Native  Born. 

Foreign  Born. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1850  

20,947,274 
27,304,624 
32,991,142 

43,475>84° 
53o72,703 
65,843-302 

90.32 
86.84 
85.56 

86.68 
85.23 
86.30 

2,244,602 
4,138,697 
5,567,229 
6,6/9.943 
9,249,547 
10,460,085 

9.68 
13.16 
14.44 
I3-32 
14-77 

'3-7° 

1860  

1870. 

1880  . 

1890  

I  QOO                           • 

It  is  seen  that  the  proportion  of  foreign-born  inhabitants, 
starting  with  9.68  per  cent  in  1850,  rose  at  a  leap  to  13.16  per 
cent  in  1860;  in  1890  it  had  increased  to  14.77  Per  cenr>  an<^ 
in  1900  it  was  13.7  per  cent.  The  increased  proportion  in 
1870  is  doubtless  due  in  great  measure,  if  not  entirely,  to  the 


FOREIGN  BORN  OF  EACH  LEADING  NATIONALITY  AT  EACH  CENSUS:  1850  TO  1900. 

HUNDREDS  OF  THOUSANDS 

GERMANY 
01        2        3        4        5        6         7        8        9       10      11       12      13      14      15      16      17     18      19     20     21       22      23      24     25     26     27     28 


900 

IRELAND 
01         2        3        4        5        6        7        8        9       10      11      12      13       14     15      16      17      18     19 


850 
860 
870 
880 
890 
900 


CANADA  AND  NEWFOUNDLAND 
01         23456789       10      11      12 


ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND  WALES 
0        1         2        3       4       5         6        7       8        9       10      11      12      18 


NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND  DENMARK 
0123456789      10      11 


= 


RUSSIA 
01234 


POLAND 
01234 


AUSTRIA 
0123 


BOHEMIA 
0        1        2 


A  CHINA  # 

012  01 


*   DOES  NOT  INCLUDE  HAWAII 


[Reproduced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  TJ.  S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.] 


CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES;  1900. 


WEST  VIRGINIA   . 

OKLAHOMA 

KENTUCKY 

INDIANA 

NEW  MEXICO 

INDIAN  TER 

TENNESSEE 

MAINE.. 

MISSOURI 

KANSAS. 

ARKANSAS 

N.CAROLINA 

VERMONT 

TEXAS 

DELAWARE 

OHIO 

OREGON 

VIRGINIA 

PENNSYLVANIA-- 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

COLORADO 

MARYLAND 

IOWA 

IDAHO 

ALABAMA 

NEBRASKA 

WYOMING... 

GEORGIA 

WASHINGTON 

FLORIDA 

ILLINOIS 

NEW  JERSEY 

CALIFORNIA 

MICHIGAN 

LOUISIANA 

CONNECTICUT 

8.  CAROLINA 

MISSISSIPPI 

NEW  YORK 

MONTANA. 

UTAH 

MASSACHUSETTS 

ARIZONA.. 

NEVADA 

S.DAKOTA 

RHODE  ISLAND... 

WISCONSIN 

ALASKA 

HAWAII.. 

MINNESOTA 

N.DAKOTA 


NATIVE  WHITE 
OF  NATIVE  PARENTS 


,        NATIVE  WHITE 

a  OF  FOREIGN  PARENTS 


I  FOREIGN  WHITE 


I  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE 


[Reproduced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.  S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.] 


§  2  7]  Nativity.  53 

incompleteness  of  that  census  in  the  southern  States,  .where 
the  omissions  were  chiefly  of  the  native-born  element. 

The  following  percentages  of  increase  of  foreign  born  of 
living  population  during  the  last  decade  are  of  interest :  Aus- 
trians,  124.1  ;  Bohemians,  32.9;  Hungarians,  133.5  >  Italians, 
165.2;  Poles,  160.1  ;  Russians,  132.2;  French-Canadians, 
30.7;  Dutch,  28.4;  Mexicans,  32.8. 

27.   Geographical  Distribution  of  Native  and  Foreign  Born. 

The  foreign-born  elements  are  confined  almost  entirely 
to  the  northern  and  western  States.  In  the  North  Atlantic 
division  the  proportion  of  the  foreign-born  element  is  not 
much  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  population,  the  proportion 
ranging  from  31.4  per  cent  in  Rhode  Island  down  to  13  in 
Vermont.  The  average  proportion  in  the  North  Central 
division  is  15.8  per  cent,  and  the  States  of  this  division  show 
a  wide  range.  In  the  Northwest  and  far  West  the  proportions 
vary.  In  North  Dakota  35.4  per  cent  of  the  people  are  of 
foreign  birth.  Next  is  Minnesota,  with  28.9  per  cent,  then 
Wisconsin,  with  24.9  per  cent.  The  smallest  proportion  is 
found  in  Indiana,  where  about  one-sixteenth  of  the  inhabitants 
are  of  foreign  birth,  and  in  Missouri,  where  a  little  more  than 
one-twelfth  are  foreign  born.  In  the  Western  division  the 
proportion  of  foreign  born  is  20.7  per  cent,  and  the  propor- 
tions in  the  various  States  and  Territories  composing  this 
division  range  from  27.6  in  Montana  and  24.7  in  California  to 
7  in  New  Mexico. 

The  South  has  had  very  few  foreign  immigrants  since  the 
Revolution,  the  South  Atlantic  division  containing  on  an  aver- 
age but  2.1  per  cent  of  the  foreign-born  element.  The  State 
having  the  largest  proportion  is  Maryland,  where  it  is  7.9  per 
cent,  and  from  this  it  ranges  down  to  0.2  per  cent  in  North 
Carolina.  The  proportion  in  the  South  Central  division  is  but 
little  greater,  being,  on  the  average,  but  2.5  per  cent.  The 
State  having  the  greatest  proportion  is  Texas,  where  it  is  5.9, 
and  that  having  the  least  is  Mississippi,  with  only  0.5  per  cent. 


54 


Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§  27 


Another  way  of  considering  the  same  problem  is  to  see  how 
the  total  number  of  foreigners  has  been  subdivided  among  the 
five  great  divisions  of  the  country  at  each  of  the  past  five  cen- 
suses. The  following  table  sets  forth  the  facts  :  — 


Geographical  Divisions. 

1850. 

1860. 

1870. 

1880. 

1890. 

1900. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

North  Atlantic    . 

59.06 

48.90 

4S-27 

42.13 

42.04 

46. 

South  Atlantic     . 

4.67 

3-93 

3.00 

2.6l 

2.25 

2.1 

North  Central 

28.98 

37-29 

41.91 

43.66 

43-90 

40.2 

South  Central 

6.09 

5-56 

4.19 

4.11 

3-4S 

3-5 

Western     .     .     . 

1.20 

4-32 

5-63 

7-49 

8-33 

8.2 

United  States  . 

IOO.OO 

IOO.OO 

100.00 

IOO.OO 

IOO  OO 

TOO  .OO 

The  North  Atlantic  and  North  Central  divisions  contain  a 
little  more  than  86  per  cent  of  the  entire  foreign-born  element, 
and  if  to  these  the  Western  division  is  added,  94.2  per  cent  are 
accounted  for,  leaving  only  5.8  percent  in  the  Southern  States. 

From  the  various  data  now  presented  it  is  seen  that  the 
condition  of  the  several  States  and  Territories  of  the  country, 
as  regards  native  and  foreign-born  elements  of  the  population, 
has  been,  since  1850,  very  much  the  same  as  at  present,  the 
foreign-born  element  being  practically  confined  to  the  northern 
and  western  States.  As  the  proportion  of  the  foreign-born  ele- 
ment to  the  whole  has  risen  from  9.68  percent  in  185010  13.7 
per  cent  in  1900,  the  numerical  increase  has  gone  almost  en- 
tirely to  the  northern  and  western  States,  and  has  therefore 
raised  the  proportion  in  the  North  Atlantic  division  from  15.37 
to  22.6  per  cent,  in  the  North  Central  division  from  12.04  to 
15.8  per  cent,  and  in  the  Western  division  from  15.11  to 
20.7  per  cent.  In  every  State  in  the  North  Atlantic  division 
the  proportion  of  foreigners  increased  between  1850  and  1890  ; 
since  1890  there  has  been  a  slight  decrease  in  Vermont,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  New  York.  In  the  North  Central  division,  from 
1850  to  1890,  there  was  an  increase  in  every  State  except 


§  28]  Geographical  Distribution.  55 

Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  and  Kansas,  while  since  1890 
there  has  been  a  decrease  in  every  State  in  the  division. 

If  we  examine  particular  States  or  sections  of  the  country 
some  extraordinary  proportions  are  disclosed.  Massachusetts, 
for  instance,  in  1900  had  846,324  foreign-born  persons, 
equivalent  to  30.2  per  cent  of  her  population.  The  great 
State  of  New  York  had  in  1900,  1,900,425  foreign-born  per- 
sons. In  particular  counties  or  cities  the  figures  are  still  more 
startling.  In  Chicago  in  1900  the  foreigners  were  34.6  per 
cent;  in  Lawrence,  Mass.,  45.7  per  cent;  in  New  York,  37 
per  cent;  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  43.1  per  cent;  in  Fall  River, 
Mass.,  47.7  per  cent;  in  Manchester,  N.  H.,  42.6  per  cent; 
in  Duluth,  Minn.,  39.6  per  cent.  In  some  of  the  western 
States  the  high  percentage  of  foreign-born  population  in  1880 
has  been  lessened  by  the  increase  in  population  from  the  chil- 
dren of  those  accounted  as  foreign  born  in  that  year. 

Turning  to  foreign  countries,  it  is  learned  from  MulhalPs 
Dictionary  of  Statistics  that  the  United  Kingdom  has  about  6 
foreigners  in  each  one  thousand  of  the  population ;  France, 
29  ;  Germany,  6  ;  Austria,  16  ;  Hungary,  15  ;  Italy,  .2  ;  Spain, 
3 ;  Sweden,  4  ;  Norway,  20  ;  Belgium,  26  ;  Switzerland,  74, 
and  Greece,  19.  The  foreign  population  in  London  is  21  per 
thousand;  in  Paris,  90;  in  Berlin,  13;  in  Budapest,  14; 
Montevideo,  210;  Buenos  Ayres,  360.  These  figures  can  be 
compared  with  those  for  the  United  States,  by  which  it  has 
been  shown  that  there  were  147  foreigners  to  each  one  thou- 
sand of  the  whole  population  ;  in  some  large  cities  there  are 
over  500. 

28.   Races. 

From  the  statements  already  presented,  the  facts  as  to  the 
country  of  birth  of  our  foreign  population  can  be  easily  ascer- 
tained, but  they  do  not  bring  out  the  importance  of  the  national 
and  ethnical  elements.  The  geographies  divide  mankind  into 
five  great  races,  —  the  Caucasian  or  European,  the  Mongolian 
or  Asiatic,  the  Ethiopian  or  African,  the  Malay  or  Malayo- 
Polynesian,  and  the  American  or  Indian.  The  sociologist,  and 


56  Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§28 

therefore  the  statistician  in  this  connection,  cannot  classify  the 
facts  as  to  population  on  this  basis.  The  mixture  of  races,  the 
constant  migrations  from  one  geographical  division  to  another, 
have,  for  purposes  of  statistical  classification,  quite  destroyed 
the  old  distinctions.  The  Federal  Census  Office  has  experi- 
enced great  difficulty  in  adhering  to  the  distribution  of  our 
population  in  accordance  with  the  five  great  divisions  named, 
and,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  foreign-born  element 
on  a  broader  basis  than  that  indicated  by  mere  country  of 
birth,  groups  the  foreign  born  as  follows  :  — 

British  Americans,  comprising  the  natives  of  Canada  and 
Newfoundland. 

Irish,  comprising  the  natives  of  Ireland. 

British,  comprising  the  natives  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Wales. 

Teutons,  comprising  the  natives  of  Germany,  Austria,  Holland, 
Belgium,  Luxembourg,  and  Switzerland. 

Scandinavians,  comprising  the  natives  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and 
Denmark. 

Slavs,  comprising  the  natives  of  Russia,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  and 
Poland. 

Greco-Latins,  comprising  the  natives  of  France,  Italy,  Spain, 
Portugal,  and  Greece. 

Asiatics,  comprising  the  natives  of  China,  Japan,  and  other  parts 
of  Asia. 

This  classification  was  not  preserved  in  the  Twelfth  Census, 
but  the  main  facts  are  set  forth  on  the  diagram  on  the  opposite 
page  and  the  table  following. 

29.     Geographical  Distribution  of  Races. 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  learn  where  the  repre- 
sentatives of  these  different  peoples  have  found  their  homes. 
The  British  Americans  in  1890  were  found  mainly  in  the  New 
England  and  North  Central  States,  especially  in  Massachusetts, 
New  York,  Maine,  and  New  Hampshire.  A  large  number  was 
also  found  in  Michigan.  The  proportion  to  the  total  popula- 
tion was  greatest  in  the  States  nearest  the  northern  boundary, 


PROPORTION  OF  FOREIGN  BORN  OF  EACH  LEADING  NATIONALITY 
BY  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES:  1900. 


WASH WJWftC, 

OREGON £ 

CAL. 

AiASKA 

HAWAII 


1  BRITISH  AMERICANS 
1  IRISH 

I  BRITISH 
STEUTONS 


SCANDINAVIANS 
SLAVS 

GRECO- LATINS 
ALL  OTHERS 


(Prepared  expressly  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology) 


PROPORTION  OF  FOREIGN  BORN  OF  EACH  LEADING  NATIONALITY                    , 
BY   STATES  AND  TERRITORIES:  1900. 

GEOGRAPHICAL 
DIVISIONS 

BRITISH 

. 

GRECO- 

CONTINENTAL 

NORTH  ATLANTIC  DIV. 

NEW    ENGLAND 

71.9 
66.9 
57.1 
34.6 
29.2 
11.4 

10.9 
15.4 
16.7 
29.5 
26.4 
29.8 

7.6 
8.2 
12.4 
12.8 
21.2 
11.9 

1.7 
2.7 
2.8 
4.5 
4.1 
16.4 

3.6 
2.7 
2.9 
4.5 
5.0 
8.0 

1.6 
1.9 
2.0 
5.8 
3.8 
11.9 

1.7 
1.4 

5.4 
5.7 
9.1 
9.4 

1.0 
.8 
.7 
2.5 
1.7 
1.2 

VERMONT 
MASSACHUSETTS 
RHODE    ISLAND 

CONNECTICUT 

SOUTH.    N.  ATLANTIC 

K.  2 
1.  7 
1.5 

22.4 
22.0 
20.9 

9.3 
14.1 
18.3 

30.7 
35.3 

29.6 

3.4 
3.1 

2.8 

15.3 
11.6 

18.1 

10.8 
11.1 
7.8 

1.9 
1.1 
1.0 

NEW   JERSEY 
PENNSYLVANIA 

SOUTH  ATLANTIC  DIV. 

NORTH.    S.   ATLANTIC 

2.2 
1.3 
4.5 
5.8 
3.2 

36.5 
14.8 
30.  9 
18.2 

14.9 

13.7 
8.6 
14.7 
24.9 

17.6 

19.3 
50.4 
31.6 
26.1 
37.2 

2.9 
.8 
2.1 

2.4 
.9 

14.5 
19.2 
5.0 
11.7 
9.7 

9.3 
3.3 
6.9 
6.3 
14.8    . 

1.8 
1.6 
4.3 
4.6 
1.7 

DELAWARE 
MARYLAND 
OIST.  OF  COLUMBIA 
VIRGINIA 

SOUTH.    S.   ATLANTIC 

10.7 
3.7 
6.1 
5.0 

"    8.3 
20.5 
18.5 

3.3 

27.7 
13.0 
16.1 
11.9 

29.6 
39.9 
31.1 
8.8 

2.8 
3.1 
3.6 
4.2 

6.9 
8.2 
12.8 
1.3 

'7.2 
6.3 
5.9 
13.4 

6.8 
5.3 
5.9 
52.1 

GEORGIA 
FLORIDA 

NORTH  CENTRAL  DIVV 

EASTERN    N.    CENTRAL 

5.0 
4.2 
5.2 
34.0 
6.  6 

12.0 
11.6 
11.9 

5.4 
4.6 

14.3 
11.1 
9.2 
10.2 
5.0 

50.2    " 
68.7 
39.9 
30.8 
52.2 

1.3 
4.1 
15.0 

7.6 
20.1 

12.  4" 
6.6 
14.7 
6.6 
9.9 

3.8 
3.1 
3.4 
1.7 
.8 

1.0 
.7 
.7 
3.7 
.8 

OHIO 

ILLINOIS 
MICHIGAN 
WISCONSIN 

VESTERN    N.    CENTRAL 

9.4 
5.1 
4.0 
25.  0 
8.0 
5.1 
6.7 

4".  4 
9.3 
K.7 
2.6 
3.7 
6.3 
9.1 

3.6 
10.0 
9.8 
4.3 
6.3 
7.6 
15.4 

26.4 
45.9 
66.5 
12.0 
23.9 
41.2 
38   1 

46.8 
23.7 
3.6 
37.6 
37.8 
22.6 
15.4 

6.0 
4.5 
6.8 
16.6 
17.6 
15.7 
12.2 

.8 
1.0 
3.6 
.8 
.  7 
1.0 
2.4 

2.6 
.5 
1.0 
1.1 
2.0 
.5 
.7 

MINNESOTA 
IOWA 
MISSOURI 
NORTH  DAKOTA 
SOUTH  DAKOTA 

SOUTH  CENTRAL  OIV. 

EASTERN   S.    CENTRAL 

2.4 

5.9 
4.8 
5.3 

•19.7 
19.0 
12.3 
15.8 

8.7 
17.2 
26.6 
12.8 

60.1 
33.4 
29.2 
29.1 

.7  ' 
3.4 
5.2 
5.8 

3.8 
8.8 
6.6 
7.0 

3.4 
9.1 
10.9 

16.4 

1.2 
3.2 
4.4 
7.8 

TENNESSEE 

ALABAMA 
MISSISSIPPI 

WESTERN   S.    CENTRAL 

2.0 
7.6 
7.8 
9.1 
1.6 

12.2 
9.4 
8.2 
6.3 
3.4 

"4.9     ' 
12.9 
28.0 
9.9 
5.8 

25.6 
50.3 
23.9 
38.8 
32.0 

"1.4 

3.8 
2.6 
5.3 
3.8 

2.0 
6.8 
9.1 
26.3 
8.6 

46.7 
6.8 
16.4 
2.3 
3.6 

5.2 
2.4 
4.0 
2.0 
41.2 

LOUISIANA 

INDIAN  TERRITORY 
OKLAHOMA 
TEXAS 

WESTERN  DIVISION^ 

ROCKY    MOUNTAIN 

20.6 
11.9 
7.2 
10.7 
5.6 

14.1 
6.6 
9.1 
11.1 
5.1 

17.1 
22.2 
24.4 
21.6 
11.0 

17.9 
17.8 
19.7 
24.7 
14.4 

14.5 
22.8 
17.2 
15.3 
2.5 

1.6 
1.2 
2.9 
4.9 
1.5 

4.2 

4.4 
7.0 
8.9 
7.3 

10.0 
13.1 
12.5 
2.9 

52.6 

IDAHO 
WYOMING 
COLORADO 
NEW  MEXICO 

5.2 
2.5 
10.2 

4.8 
2.8 
14.1 

"8.6 
44.9 

15.3 

7.4 
8.6 
16.2 

2.7 
34.0 

6.6 

.7 
.4 
.6 

4.3 
2.4 
19.4 

66.3 
4.4 

17.7 

ARIZONA 
NEVADA 

PACIFIC 

1fl.  2 
11.4 
8.1 

6.5 
6.4 
12.1 

14.0 
12.7 
12.9 

19.6 
26.6 
24.7 

23.6 
13.7 

7.8 

3.3 
3.8 
1.6 

3.  1 
3.2 

13.2 

11.7 
22.2 
19.6 

WASHINGTON 
OREGON 

OUTLYING    DIST. 

15.8 
.4 

5.3 
.2 

8.0 
1.3 

10.9 
1.6 

23.3 
.5 

2.0 
.2 

4.7 
7.6 

33.0 
88.2 

HAWA,, 

§  29]  Distribution  by  Races.  57 

particularly  in  North  Dakota,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Michigan,  Rhode  Island,  Maine,  and  Vermont. 

The  Irish  were  found  mainly  in  the  North  Atlantic  division, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  in  some  of  the  States  of  the  North 
Central  and  Western  divisions ;  and  in  the  proportion  which 
the  Irish  bore  to  the  whole  population  the  conditions  were 
somewhat  similar,  the  largest  percentage  being  found  in  the 
North  Atlantic  States,  the  concentration  being  greatest  in 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut,  while  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  come  next  in  the  order 
named. 

The  British,  comprising  the  natives  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Wales,  are  found  in  the  greatest  numbers  in  the  North 
Atlantic  division,  there  being  a  larger  number  in  Pennsylvania 
and  New  York  than  in  any  of  the  other  States.  The  British 
appear  to  be  widely  dispersed  over  the  whole  country  outside 
of  the  South  Atlantic  and  South  Central  divisions,  the  largest 
per  cent  of  the  total  population  being  found  in  the  Western 
division,  nearly  9  per  cent  of  the  entire  number  of  inhabi- 
tants of  Utah  and  more  than  5  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Wyoming  belonging  to  the  group. 

The  Teutons  consist  almost  entirely  of  Germans,  the  other 
contributing  nationalities  being  relatively  of  slight  importance. 
These  people  were  found  in  1900  in  large  bodies  in  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  and  also  in  the  eastern 
States  of  the  North  Central  division,  mainly  in  Illinois,  Ohio, 
and  Wisconsin.  Considering  them  in  proportion  to  the  total 
population,  they  were  found  more  largely  in  Wisconsin,  where 
they  comprised  less  than  one-eighth  of  the  population  of  the 
State.  They  made  up  about  one-fourteenth  of  the  population 
of  Minnesota,  Illinois,  and  New  York,  while  in  every  one  of 
the  North  Atlantic  and  North  Central  States  outside  of  New 
England  they  comprised  a  marked  proportion  of  the  whole 
population. 

The  Scandinavians,  comprising  Norwegians,  Swedes,  and 
Danes,  were  found  to  have  made  their  homes  in  considerable 


58  Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§  29 

numbers  in  Minnesota,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa  in  the 
North  Central  division.  Their  proportion  to  the  total  popula- 
tion is  found  to  be  most  marked  in  the  North  Central  division, 
and  next  in  degree  in  the  Western  division.  In  Minnesota  they 
constituted  one-seventh  of  the  entire  population.  In  North 
Dakota  they  constituted  somewhat  more  than  one-seventh  of 
the  population,  and  in  South  Dakota  more  than  one-eleventh. 

The  more  than  one  million  one  hundred  thousand  Slavs 
were  found  mainly  in  the  North  Central  and  North  Atlantic 
Divisions.  The  largest  proportions  of  Bohemians  were  found 
in  New  York,  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  Nebraska ;  of  Hungarians,  in 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  ;  of  Poles,  in 
Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Illinois  ;  of  Rus- 
sians, in  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Illinois, 
North  and  South  Dakota. 

The  strangers  coming  from  the  Greco-Latin  nations  — 
France,  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Greece  —  were  variously 
located,  the  largest  proportions  of  French  being  found  in  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  California,  and  the  Italians  in  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Illinois,  Louisiana,  and  California.  The  Spanish,  Portu- 
guese, and  Greek  contingents  were  not  particularly  important. 

The  Asiatics  were  almost  entirely  from  China,  and  were 
found  principally  in  the  Western  division,  comparatively  few 
having  spread  to  other  States.  The  largest  proportions  rela- 
tive to  population  were  found  in  California  and  Oregon.  In 
the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States  their  numbers  and  pro- 
portions are  insignificant. 

As  shown  by  the  statements  in  this  chapter  relating  to  the 
proportion  of  the  foreign-born  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
the  question  might  be  asked  how  far  immigrants  have  re- 
mained in  the  East  or  sought  the  West  for  their  habitations. 
Climate  has  had  much  to  do  with  it ;  business,  habits,  and 
occupations  have  contributed  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
single  influence  in  directing  the  course  of  the  settlement  of 
the  foreign-born.  Immigrants,  in  the  earlier  years  of  their 
coming  to  this  country,  very  naturally  avoided  the  Southern 


§  30]  Parent  Nativity.  59 

States,  although  they  might  have  been  much  richer  in  natural 
resources ;  they  did  not  care  to  compete  with  slave  labour,  and 
they  would  settle  oftentimes  on  cheerless  prairies  of  the  West 
rather  than  in  the  fertile  fields  of  the  South.  This,  of  course, 
is  true  of  those  who  desired  to  settle  upon  farms.  A  large 
proportion  of  recent  immigrants  are  labourers,  while  formerly 
they  were  mechanics.  These  very  naturally  sought  the  local- 
ities where  mechanical  industries  prevailed,  and  they  have 
either  remained  in  the  great  manufacturing  centres  East,  or 
sought  like  centres  in  the  Middle  and  Western  States.  Cli- 
mate, forms  of  labour,  occupation,  the  location  of  old-country 
friends  and  neighbours,  and  many  other  influences  have  di- 
rected the  distribution  of  the  foreign-born  element  of  our 
population. 

30.     Parent  Nativity. 

The  consideration  of  the  foreign  element  in  our  population 
so  far  has  been  confined  to  the  people  of  foreign  birth  only. 
Until  the  census  of  1870  no  effort  was  made  to  determine  the 
proportion  of  foreign  parentage  in  the  total  population  ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  number  of  persons,  whether  themselves  of  native  or 
foreign  birth,  who  had  either  one  or  both  parents  foreign  born. 
The  census  of  1870  disclosed  the  fact  that  while  the  total 
number  of  foreign  born  was  5,667,229,  the  whole  number  of 
persons  of  foreign  parentage  was  10,892,015,  which  consti- 
tuted 28.25  Per  cent  °f  tne  total  population  at  that  time. 
There  were  only  a  few  cases  born  in  foreign  countries  of  par- 
ents who  were  both  native  American  born. 

In  1880,  though  the  results  were  only  approximately  cor- 
rect, it  appears  that  out  of  the  total  population  of  50,155,783, 
there  were  14,922,744,  or  29.75  per  cent,  who  had  either  one 
or  both  parents  foreign  born,  of  whom  6,646,691  were  foreign- 
ers. In  the  general  results  arrived  at  in  1890  there  are  some 
variations  of  classification,  but  the  enumeration  shows  that 
20,676,046,  or  33.02  per  cent  of  the  total  population  were  of 
foreign  parentage.  In  1900,  26,198,939  (10,460,085  being 


60  Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§  30 

of  foreign  birth),  or  34.3  per  cent  of  the  total  population 
(76,303,387)  were  of  foreign  parentage.  The  conclusion, 
then,  is  that  more  than  one-third  of  the  total  population  of 
the  United  States  in  1900  was  either  born  abroad  or  had 
parents  (one  or  both)  born  abroad. 

The  percentages  of  persons  of  foreign  birth  or  parentage  in 
some  States  are  very  remarkable.  In  the  North  Atlantic 
division  it  was  51.1  per  cent  of  the  total  population  ;  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, 62.3  per  cent;  in  Rhode  Island,  64.2  per  cent, 
and  in  New  York,  59.4  per  cent.  In  the  South  Atlantic 
division  the  foreign-born  and  children  of  foreign  parentage 
range  from  23  in  Maryland  to  .7  of  i  per  cent  in  North 
Carolina,  but  average  only  5.9  per  cent  of  the  total  popula- 
tion. The  North  Central  division  has  44.2  per  cent,  ranging 
from  77.5  in  North  Dakota  to  20.1  in  Indiana.  The  South 
Central  division  has  but  7.6  per  cent,  ranging  from  15.5  in 
Texas  to  1.8  per  cent  in  Mississippi.  In  the  Western  division 
47.6  per  cent  of  the  population  is  of  foreign  birth  or  of  foreign 
parentage,  the  highest  percentage  being  found  in  Utah,  61.2 
per  cent,  and  the  lowest  in  New  Mexico,  16.2  per  cent. 

31.    Population  according  to  Colour. 

The  distribution  of  the  population  relative  to  colour  consti- 
tutes a  valuable  feature  of  any  sociological  study  of  the  people. 
Out  of  a  total  population  of  76,303,387  in  1900  the  persons 
of  negro  descent  numbered  8,840,789.  In  addition  to  these, 
there  were  in  the  United  States  proper  89,863  Chinese  as 
against  107,488  in  1890,  and  24,326  Japanese  as  against 
2,039  m  1890.  These,  with  the  Indians  (266,760),  make  a 
total  coloured  element,  excluding  Hawaii,  of  9,241,738,  and  in- 
cluding Hawaii,  9,312,599,  or  less  than  one-eighth  of  the  whole 
population. 

The  relative  proportion  of  negroes  and  whites  is  a  factor  of 
great  importance  in  the  conditions  of  Southern  agriculture  and 
manufactures.  The  following  table  gives  the  statistics  for  the 
United  States  since  1790.  The  returns  of  1870  are  known  to 
be  very  defective  :  — 


NEGRO  POPULATION,  BY  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES:  1900. 

GEORGIA  
MISSISSIPPI..  . 
ALABAMA  
S.    CAROLINA 
VIRGINIA  
LOUISIANA  ... 
N.    CAROLINA. 
TEXAS  
TENNESSEE.... 
ARKANSAS  
KENTUCKY...  . 
MARYLAND.  ... 

1                2 

HUNDREDS  OF  THOUSANDS 
3456789               10 

• 

FLORIDA  ••••••Ml 

• 

MISSOURI  ••••••• 

PENNSYLVANIA 

••Ml 

— 

1 

NEW  YORK  
OHIO 

•MMBB 
•HHH* 
•BMBi 

DIST.    OF  COL. 

ILLINOIS  

SBHMC 

NEW  JERSEY 

mtmm 

INDIANA  

•••B 

KANSAS  

9BBB 

WEST  VIRGINIA 

INDIAN  TER.  .. 

•• 

MASS  

•I 

DELAWARE.... 

• 

OKLAHOMA.. 

• 

MICHIGAN  

• 

CONNECTICUT 

• 

IOWA  _ 

• 

CALIFORNIA 

• 

RHODE   ISLANP 

• 

COLORADO.  . 

1 

NEBRASKA...  . 

1 

MINNESOTA  .. 

1 

WISCONSIN.... 

1 

WASHINGTON 

1 

ARIZONA  

1 

NEW  MEXICO. 

1 

MONTANA  

1 

MAINE  

1 

OREGON  

1 

Note  :  States  and  territories  having  a  negro  population  of  less  than  1000  are  not  shown. 

(Reproduced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociolgy.) 

§3'] 


Colour. 


61 


White. 

Negro.1 

Census 

Years. 

Number. 

Per  cent 
of  Total. 

Increase  in 
Per  cent. 

Number. 

Percent 

of  Total. 

Increase  in 
Per  cent. 

1790 

3,172,006 

'    80.73 

757,208 

19.27 

1800 

4,306,446 

8I.I2 

3576 

1,002,037 

18.88 

32-33 

1810 

5,862,073 

80.97 

36.12 

I,377,8o8 

19.03 

37-5° 

1820 

7,862,166 

81.61 

34-12 

1,771,656 

18.39 

28.59 

1830 

1°,  537.378 

81.90 

34-03 

2,328,642 

I8.IO 

3r-44 

1840 

14,195,805 

83.16 

34-72 

2,873.648 

16.84 

23.40 

1850 

19,553,068 

84.31 

37-74 

3,638,808 

15.69 

26.63 

1860 

26,922,537 

85.62 

3769 

4,441,830 

'4-'3 

22.07 

1870 

33,589,377 

87.11 

24.76 

4,880,009 

12.66 

9.86 

1880 

43,402,970 

86.54 

29.22 

6,580,793 

13.12 

3485 

1890 

54,983,890 

87.80 

26.68 

7,470,040 

ii  93 

I3-51 

1900 

66,990,788 

87.80 

21.40 

8,840,789 

1  1.  60 

18.10 

1   Includes  all  persons  of  negro  descent. 

In  the  foregoing  table  the  few  Japanese,  Chinese,  and  civi- 
lised Indians  are  included  with  negroes  up  to  1860;  from 
1860  they  are  entirely  omitted.  The  numbers  themselves  are 
so  small  as  not  materially  to  interfere  with  any  conclusions  that 
may  be  drawn  from  the  table.  It  shows  that  the  proportion 
of  persons  of  negro  descent  has  diminished  during  each  census 
period,  with  the  exception  of  1 800-10.  The  negro  element 
in  1790  constituted  nearly  one-fifth,  and  in  1900  less  than 
one-eighth  of  the  population. 

Discarding  the  erroneous  figures  of  1870,  the  conclusion  is 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  decade  from  1800  to  1810,  the 
increase  of  the  white  population  has  been  at  a  greater  rate  than 
that  of  the  negro  in  every  case  ;  during  the  period  from  1890  to 
1900  the  increase  was  21.4  for  whites  and  18.1  for  negroes. 

The  greater  sociological  effects  of  the  negro  population  in 
the  South  are  easily  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  facts  tabu- 
lated on  next  page. 

In  the  North  Atlantic,  the  North  Central,  and  Western 
divisions  the  proportion  of  the  negro  element  has  always  been 
trifling,  and  has,  till  late  years,  rather  tended  to  decrease  than 
to  increase.  Missouri  is  the  only  State  in  these  groups  that 
has  ever  contained  any  notable  proportion  of  the  negro  element, 


62 


Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§  31 


and  here  the  proportion  has  di- 
minished almost  continuously  from 
13.20  per  cent  in  1850  to  5.2 
per  cent  in  1900.  Practically  the 
negro  element  of  the  country  is 
found  in  the  South  Atlantic  and 
South  Central  divisions,  the  pro- 
portions being  almost  precisely  the 
same  in  the  South  Atlantic  division 
in  1790  as  in  1900,  while  in  the 
South  Central  division  it  has  in- 
creased from  14.92  per  cent  in 
1790  to  29.8  per  cent  in  1900. 

The  number  of  Chinese  in  the 
country  has  decreased  from 
107,488  in  1890  to  89,863  (ex- 
cluding Alaska  and  Hawaii)  in 
1900.  The  number  in  the  West- 
ern division  in  the  latter  year  was 
67,729  ;  in  1890  it  was  96,844. 
Of  the  total  number  of  Chinese  in 
the  country  in  1900,  a  little  over 
two-thirds  were  living  in  California 
and  Oregon,  the  remainder  being 
scattered  over  the  country.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  numbers  stated,  there 
were  in  Alaska  3,1 1 6  and  in  Hawaii 
25,767,  making  the  total  Chinese 
population  of  the  United  States  and 
Territories  119,050.  The  Japanese 
in  the  United  States  proper  num- 
bered 24,326  in  1900,  while  in 
1890  there  were  only  2,039;  they 
are  found  in  the  largest  numbers  in 
the  Western  division.  In  addition 
to  these  there  are  in  Alaska  279 
and  in  Hawaii  61,111  Japanese. 


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North  Atlantic  Division 
South  Atlantic  Division 
North  Central  Division 
South  Central  Division 
Western  Division 

in 

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c 

t) 

H 

COMPOSITION  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

INCLUDING  RESIDENT  NATIVES,  NATIVE  IMMIGRANTS  AND  FOREIGN 

BORN,  WITH  PER  CENT  OF  NATIVE  EMIGRANTS:  1900 

PER  CENT 
0        10       20       SO       4Q       50       60       70       80        SO        0        10       20       3O 

8.  CAROLINA 

N.CAROLINA  ... 

VIRGINIA.... 

GEORGIA 

KENTUCKY 

ALABAMA 

TENNESSEE 

MISSISSIPPI 

LOUISIANA 

MAINE 

MARYLAND 

WEST  VIRGINIA 

OHIO 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

INDIANA 

NEW  MEXICO... - 

VERMONT 

DELAWARE 

TEXAS 

NEW  YORK 

UTAH  ..- 

MISSOURI 

FLORIDA 

ARKANSAS 

WISCONSIN 

MICHIGAN 

ILLINOIS 

IOWA 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
CONNECTICUT.. 
NEW  JERSEY... 
MASSACHUSETTS 

MINNESOTA 

RHODE   ISLAND. 

ALASKA 

CALIFORNIA 

NEBRASKA. 

DIS.  OFCOLUMBI 

ARIZONA  

KANSAS 

NEVADA 

S.DAKOTA 

OREGON. 

HAWAII 

INDIAN  TER 

N.DAKOTA 

IDAHO 

COLORADO 

MONTANA 

WASHINGTON... 

WYOMING 

OKLAHOMA. 

l^\x^3  RESIDENT  NATIVES 

!  NATIVE  IMMIGRANTS  UH  NATIVE  EMIGRANTS 

[Reproduced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.  S.  Census,  foi  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.] 


§  32]  Internal   Migrations.  63 


32.     Internal  Migrations. 

The  migration  of  the  people  among  the  States  constitutes  an 
interesting  question  in  connection  with  our  population.  A  few 
facts  may  illustrate  the  constant  change  in  geographical  dis- 
tribution. The  native-born  population  of  the  United  States  in 
1900  numbered  65,843,302,  and  constituted  86.3  per  cent  of 
the  total  population.  Out  of  these  only  51,979,651,  or  79  per 
cent,  or  about  three-fourths,  were  born  in  the  State  or  Terri- 
tory where  they  were  living  that  year,  while  13,787,800  native 
born  came  from  other  parts  of  the  United  States ;  adding  this 
latter  number  to  the  10,460,085  foreign  born, we  have  24,247,885 
transplanted  persons.  When  we  consider  the  movement  from 
country  to  city  in  the  same  State,  it  is  safe  to  assert  that  less 
than  a  third  of  the  Americans  are  living  out  of  connection  with 
the  place  where  they  were  born. 

The  proportion  of  stay-at-homes  among  natives  was,  in  the 
North  Atlantic  division  of  States,  86.3  per  cent;  ranging  from 
93.2  in  Maine  to  72.7  in  Rhode  Island.  In  the  South  Atlantic 
division  the  proportion  was  89.1,  varying  from  95.9  in  South 
Carolina  to  46.4  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

In  the  North  Central  division  the  proportions  ranged  from 
86.2  per  cent  in  Ohio  to  46.9  in  Kansas,  with  an  average  of 
73.6.  In  the  South  Central  division  the  proportion  was  78.5. 
Nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  native-born  persons  living  in  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana  were 
natives  of  those  States  ;  while  in  Texas  and  Arkansas  the  per- 
centages were  70.8  and  65.5  respectively.  In  Oklahoma  but 
1 6. 6  per  cent  of  its  native-born  population  were  natives  of  that 
Territory,  and  they  consisted  mainly  of  young  persons  born 
within  the  limits  of  that  portion  of  the  Indian  Territory  now 
known  as  Oklahoma,  and  open  to  settlement  just  prior  to  the 
census  enumeration  in  June,  1890. 

The  States  and  Territories  comprising  the  Western  division 
with  the  exception  of  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  contained  in 


64  Native  and  Foreign  Born.  [§  32 

1890  the  smallest  percentages  of  natives  of  the  State  or  Terri- 
tory where  enumerated  ;  in  New  Mexico  78.8  per  cent,  and  in 
Utah  81.6  per  cent;  while  the  smallest  percentages  were  26 
in  Wyoming,  and  32.7  in  Washington,  and  50.4  for  the  division 
as  a  whole. 

In  the  eastern  States  there  was  not  much  change  in  these 
conditions  between  1890  and  1900;  for  the  native-born  ele- 
ments of  the  population  are  not  subject  to  violent  fluctuation. 
The  proportion  in  more  recently  settled  States,  however,  in- 
creased during  the  ten  years  between  the  last  two  enumerations. 
The  percentage  of  persons  born  in  the  State  where  enumerated 
in  1900,  for  the  whole  country,  varied  only  about  one-half  of 
one  per  cent  from  the  percentage  of  1890.  The  coloured 
people  wander  less  than  the  white,  for  84.1  per  cent  of  them 
live  in  their  native  State,  against  78.2  per  cent  for  the  white. 
In  the  South  Central  division  the  percentages  of  white  and 
coloured  who  were  born  in  the  State  where  enumerated  were 
about  the  same  as  for  the  country  at  large,  except  that  in  1880 
the  percentage  of  coloured  was  only  79.56  as  against  84.02 
for  the  whole  country. 


PART    II. 


CHAPTER   V. 
SOCIAL   UNITS. 

33.    References. 

Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population,  Vol.  I.  (as  to  size  of  families)  ; 
Alexis  de  Tocqueville,  Democracy  in  America,  II.  book  n,  ch.  v.  ;  Sir 
Henry  Maine,  Ancient  Law,  163,  165  ;  Eleventh  Census,  Report  on 
Churches  (1890)  ;  H.  K.  Carroll,  The  Religious  Forces  of  the  United  States  ; 
^Samuel  W.  Dike,  Problems  of  the  Family  (in  Century,  XVII.  385, 
January,  1890,  N.  S.)  ;  Daniel  Dorchester,  Problem  of  Religious  Progress; 
Charles  F.  Thwing,  7Vie  Family  :  An  Historical  and  Social  Study  ;  Grace 
H.  Dodge,  Working  Girls'  Societies  (in  Chaulauqitan,  IX.  223,  January, 
1889)  ;  Reports  of  Associations  of  Working  Girls'  Clubs,  obtained  of 
Miss  O.  M.  E.  Rowe,  lioston,  Mass. 

For  accounts  of  Labour  organisations  see  Richard  T.  Ely,  Labor 
Movement  in  America;  T.  V.  Powderly,  Tliirty  Years  of  Labor  ;  George 
E.  McNeill,  The  Labor  Movement  ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Industrial  Evolu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  chs.  xvii.,  xix.,  xx.  ;  An  Historical  Sketch  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  and  The  Amalgamated  Association  of  Iron  and  Steel 
Workers  (in  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  I.  136,  January,  1887,  VII. 
400,  July,  1893,  and  November,  1891);  Sidney  and  Beatrice  Webb,  His- 
tory of  Trade  Unionism  ;  Mary  S.  Fergusson,  Boarding  Homes  and  Clubs 
for  Working  Women  (in  United  States  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletin, 
No.  15)  ;  Maud  Stanley  Clubs  for  Working  Girls  (in  Nineteenth  Century, 
XXV.  73,  January,  1889);  Albert  Shaw,  A  Model  Working-Girls'  Club 
(in  Scribner's  Magazine,  XI.  169,  February,  1892)  ;  Mrs.  Croly,  The  History 
of  the  Women's  Club  Movement  in  America  ;  Ellen  M.  Henrotin,  The 
Attitude  of  Women's  Clubs  toivards  Social  Economics  (in  U.  S.  Dept.  of 
Labour,  Bulletin,  No.  23)  ;  Address  of  William  J.  Tucker,  at  Second 
National  Convention  of  Working  Girls'  Clubs  at  Boston,  1894  (obtained 
of  Miss  O.  M.  E.  Rowe);  Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology, 
I.  part  ii.  ;  III.  part  vi.  ;  Lester  F.  Ward,  The  Psychic  Factors  of  Civiliza- 
tion,  ch.  xviii.  ;  Franklin  H.  Giddings,  The  Principles  of  Sociology,  Book  II. 
chs.  iii.  andiv.  ;  Bibliography  in  Brookings  &  Ringwalt,  Briefs  for  Debate, 
§  Iviii.;  William  S.  Waudby,  Mutual  Relief  Associations  in  Printing 
Trade,  in  United  States  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletin,  No.  19;  Edward 
W.  Bemis,  Benefit  Features  of  American  Trade  Unions,  Bulletin,  No.  22; 

65 


66  Social  Units.  [§  33 

Emory  R.  Johnson,  Brotherhood  Relief  and  Insurance  of  Railway  Em- 
ployees, Bulletin,  No.   17. 

34.     Tendency  to  Association. 

Every  organisation  in  society  consists  of  individual  units, 
and  these  units  must  be  brought  into  some  relationship  with 
each  other  before  the  lowest  form  of  the  social  unit  can  be 
created.  The  total  population  of  the  United  States  might 
be  distributed  over  the  area  thereof  in  such  a  way  that  there 
would  be  no  society.  There  must  be  social  relations  —  the 
association  of  individuals  in  some  form  and  for  a  purpose  — 
before  society  can  exist  or  be  enduring.  The  individual  units 
are  of  infinite  variety,  and  by  their  very  constitution  —  that 
is,  by  their  human  nature  —  they  seek  association,  not  only 
for  the  gratification  of  social  desires,  but  for  purposes  of 
growth,  advancement,  defence,  and  social  force,  aims  which 
the  individual  alone  cannot  gratify. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  conceive  of  a  state  in  which  the 
independence  of  the  individual  unit  is  preserved.  The  low- 
est forms  of  civilisation,  even  conditions  representing  the  very 
lowest  forms  of  human  life,  comprehend  some  social  relations 
that  take  the  individual  out  of  his  unit  character.  In  some 
cases  the  lowest  savages  may  seem  to  preserve  individual  inde- 
pendence ;  yet  on  close  examination  it  is  found  no  one  lives 
in  himself  or  for  himself.  Man  is  endowed  with  psychic  as 
well  as  with  mental  and  intellectual  characteristics,  and  the 
force  of  that  psychic  nature  compels  him  to  seek  relations 
with  other  units.  It  is  this  universal  tendency  that  creates 
social  relations,  out  of  which  grow  all  the  organisations  of 
society.  Many  writers  contend  that  society  is  of  itself  an 
organism,  having  various  members,  like  the  human  body ;  but 
it  is  unlike  the  human  body  in  that  the  several  members  of 
the  latter  have  separate  and  distinct  functions  that  co-ordinate 
with  other  functions,  while  society,  as  an  organism,  consists 
of  members  endowed  with  similar  characteristics,  and  hence 
of  like  functions.  The  body  is  not  made  up  of  a  hundred 
fingers,  and  has  not  a  dozen  hearts.  While  the  individual 


§35]  Association — The  Family.  67 

members,  therefore,  of  the  social  organism,  so  called,  may 
have,  generally  speaking,  like  characteristics,  they  are  not 
equally  developed,  nor  are  the  functions  of  the  different  mem- 
bers of  equal  force  and  importance. 

35.   The  Family. 

Of  this  tendency  to  association  and  to  seek  social  relations 
—  a  tendency  based  on  psychic  force  —  the  first  result  may 
have  been  the  family.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to  discuss  the 
theory  of  the  family  ;  we  accept  it  as  a  fact,  and  consider  it  as 
one  of  the  social  units  of  society  as  it  exists.  It  is  more  than 
this;  it  must  be  considered  as  the  crucial  social  unit,  —  "the 
very  keystone  of  society, "  —  for  it  results  from  that  happy 
association  of  the  sexes  by  which  the  human  species  is  per- 
petuated and  extended,  by  which  the  affections  are  developed, 
and  by  which  the  interest  which  compels  one  unit  to  protect, 
preserve,  and  cherish  another  is  fostered.  It  should  be  the 
purpose  of  society,  as  a  whole,  to  protect  the  sacred  ness  and 
integrity  of  that  relation.  Without  the  family  unit  no  other 
social  units  would  be  possible  ;  it  brings  the  individual  out  of 
his  seclusion  into  ethical  relations,  constitutes  him  a  living 
evolutionary  force,  lifts  him  out  of  intensive  selfishness  to  a 
more  extensive  selfishness,  for  in  the  family  relation  he  must 
live  for  others,  although  in  living  for  others  he  may  live  for  his 
own  higher  enjoyment.  The  purpose  of  the  individual  unit  in 
entering  social  relations  and  in  inviting  the  force  of  association 
is  to  secure  happiness.  He  may  be  well  fed,  warmed,  and 
clothed  while  in  the  disintegrated  state  of  the  individual,  but 
in  such  state  he  can  have  no  realisation  of  the  happiness  which 
comes  from  appreciation  of  and  service  to  others.  Hence  the 
family  grows  out  of  the  psychic  tendencies  of  men,  and  is  per- 
haps the  best  demonstration  of  the  highest  aspirations  of  the 
individual.  It  is  found  under  every  condition  of  population, 
whether  living  in  savagery,  in  barbarous,  or  in  civilised  com- 
munities. It  is  the  fundamental  unit  of  civilised  societv. 


68  Social  Units.  [§36 

36.   Size  of  Families. 

Much  is  said  of  late  about  the  menace  to  which  the  family 
is  exposed  through  the  complications  of  modern  society ;  and 
the  striking  decrease  in  the  average  size  of  the  modern  family, 
a  tendency  which  seems  to  be  the  result  of  highly  developed 
civilisation,  is  a  source  of  some  alarm.  There  is  a  restriction 
of  births,  resulting  from  an  increased  responsibility,  or,  more 
correctly,  from  a  higher  appreciation  of  true  responsibility,  and 
hence  the  oldtime,  numerous  family  gives  way  under  modern 
conditions  in  all  civilised  countries  to  a  smaller  family ;  and  it 
is  contended  by  many  sociologists  that  this  is  an  indication, 
not  of  degeneration,  nor  of  a  tendency  to  the  disintegration  of 
the  family,  but  to  a  better  realising  sense  of  the  nature  of  the 
family,  and  of  the  responsibility  of  the  father  and  mother  to 
bring  up  well  and  to  develop  a  small  family  rather  than 
to  neglect  a  large  one.  This  is  very  delicate  and  very  debat- 
able ground,  and  the  facts  are  not  yet  complete  enough  to 
warrant ,  any  positive  and  demonstrable  conclusion.  The 
writer  once  stated  that  a  small  family  well  cared  for  was  a 
greater  honour  to  God  than  a  large  one  neglected ;  the  result 
was  a  severe  attack  upon  him  for  "advocating  prenatal  mur- 
der." Nevertheless,  it  must  be  conceded  that  if  a  decrease  in 
infant  mortality  is  the  result  of  more  concentrated  care  upon 
the  fe\v,  then  the  smaller  family  is  more  effective  in  society 
than  a  larger  one  neglected ;  certain  it  is  that  the  average 
duration  of  human  life  has  been  increased  at  least  10  per  cent 
under  modern  civilisation.  Such  result  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  health  and  the  welfare  of  the  individual  units  compos- 
ing the  family  are  now  better  cared  for  and  better  protected 
than  they  were  formerly.  It  is  true  that  foreign-born  parents 
have  families  larger  than  natives ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  as  our 
foreign-born  assimilate  with  our  own  population  the  size  of 
their  families  diminishes  slightly,  and  after  a  generation  or  two 
the  proportions  are  fairly  equal. 

The  relative  size  of  the  families  of  this  country  is  ascertain- 


§  36]  Size  of  Families.  69 

able  since  1850,  when  for  the  whole  country  it  was  5.55.  In 
1860  it  was  5.28  ;  in  1870,  5.09  ;  in  1880,  5.04  ;  in  1890,  4.93, 
and  in  1900,  the  latest  year  for  which  facts  are  obtainable,  it  was 
4.7  ;  a  decrease  in  the  fifty  years  of  16.07  per  cent.  The  varia- 
tion in  the  size  of  families  by  geographical  divisions  offers  some 
interesting  considerations.  The  decrease  in  the  North  Atlan- 
tic States  was  from  5.45  in  1850  to  4.6  in  1900;  in  the  South 
Atlantic  division,  from  5.61  to  5  ;  in  the  North  Central  divi- 
sion, from  5.69  to  4.6;  in  the  South  Central  division,  from 
5.70  to  5  ;  while  in  the  Western  division,  which  comprises  the 
mining  States  and  the  frontier,  there  was  an  increase  in  the 
size  of  the  family  from  4.18  in  1850  to  4.88  in  1890,  but  it  is 
now  4.4,  practically  the  same  as  for  the  whole  country.  In 
the  early  days  of  western  settlement,  where  many  single  men 
engaged  in  mining  or  agriculture,  while  the  other  members  of 
the  family  remained  at  home,  it  was  natural  that  the  average 
family  should  be  small ;  for  instance,  in  Montana  the  average 
family  rose  from  2.92  in  1870  to  3.94  in  1880,  and  to  4.4  in 
1900,  almost  equalling  the  average  size  of  the  family  in  the 
whole  country  (4.7)  in  the  same  year. 

Curiously  enough,  on  examining  the  statistics  for  Utah, 
where  polygamy  formerly  prevailed,  we  find  that  the  average 
size  of  the  family  in  1850  was  4.90,  or  less  than  in  the  whole 
country;  in  1890  it  was  5.36,  while  in  1900  it  dropped  to  4.9 
again.  The  States  having  the  highest  average  size  of  family  in 
1900  were  Texas,  with  5.2  ;  Indian  Territory,  Minnesota,  North 
Carolina,  Virginia,  and  West  Virginia  each  with  5.1  ;  Tennessee 
and  South  Carolina,  5.  The  large  coloured  families  in  most  of 
the  States  named  may  account  for  the  high  average,  although 
Minnesota  and  Indian  Territory  have  5.1.  The  population  of 
the  West  has  increased  rapidly,  and  is  naturally  coming  more 
and  more  to  the  family  basis,  instead  of  that  of  single  indi- 
viduals or  young  couples.  It  is  an  interesting  sociological  fact 
that  at  the  present  time  there  is  no  such  variation  in  the  aver- 
age size  of  the  family  in  the  different  divisions  of  the  country 
as  existed  a  generation  or  more  ago.  The  smallest  average 


70  Social  Units.  [§  36 

size  of  the  family  in  1900  was  in  the  State  of  Nevada  where  it 
was  3.8 ;  but  as  Nevada  becomes  more  densely  populated  the 
size  of  the  family  will  increase  for  a  time,  and  then  will  follow 
the  rule  of  older  communities.  American  population  tends 
also  to  become  more  urban  in  character,  and  hence  a  con- 
stantly diminishing  average  will  probably  be  shown  at  each 
succeeding  census.  A  study  of  one  hundred  of  the  principal 
cities  of  the  country  having  a  population  of  25,000  or  more 
shows  with  but  few  exceptions  a  decrease  in  the  average  size 
of  the  family  from  1890  to  1900.  In  New  York  City  the 
average  size  of  the  family  has  decreased  from  4.8  in  1890 
to  4.7  in  1900,  while  in  Chicago  the  decrease  has  been  from 
5  to  4.7  during  the  same  period.1  The  average  size  of  the 
family,  in  Massachusetts,  was  5.76  in  1790  and  4.7  in  1900. 
There  is  not  much  difference  in  the  average  size  of  the  family 
in  cities  as  compared  with  rural  communities. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  children  had 
been  born  to  every  woman  married  or  now  divorced.  In  the 
Massachusetts  census  of  1885  some  figures  were  given  which 
showed  that  foreign-born  mothers  were  more  prolific  than 
native-born  mothers,  while  it  was  shown  also  that  the  number 
of  children  of  foreign-born  mothers  decreased  relative  to  the 
time  they  had  lived  in  this  country.  The  general  results,  con- 
sidered on  broad  grounds,  indicated  that  the  mothers  having 
purely  native  parentage  show  relatively  a  slightly  greater  pro- 
portion of  their  children  living  than  the  mothers  of  purely 
foreign  parentage. 

37.   The  Integrity  of  the  Family. 

Though  the  decrease  in  the  size  of  the  family  for  the  whole 
country  from  1850  to  1890  is  not  necessarily  alarming,  in 
view  of  all  the  disturbing  elements  which  have  come  in  during 
that  time,  yet  it  is  sufficiently  great  to  lead  to  many  arguments 
in  favour  of  the  conclusion  that  the  family  is  disintegrating  ; 

1  Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population,  Part  I.  p.  clxi. 


§37]  Integrity  of  the  Family.  71 

in  fact,  in  Edmond  Kelly's  valuable  "  Evolution  and  Effort," 
recently  published,  there  is  found  the  statement  that  "  the 
family,  which  is  the  basis  of  our  civilisation,  is  gradually  break- 
ing up."  With  all  due  recognition  of  the  facts  in  the  case, 
this  is  an  exceedingly  strong  statement,  well  calculated  to 
frighten  the  timid  and  lead  to  very  pessimistic  conclusions. 
The  laxity  of  marriage  laws,  the  frequency  of  divorce,  the 
tendency  to  late  marriage  on  account  of  social  environment, 
the  desire  of  parents  to  secure  the  best  possible  standing  for 
their  children,  —  all  these,  taken  in  connection  with  some 
phases  of  modern  industry,  unite  to  reduce  the  size  of  the 
family.  That  this  tendency  is  great  enough  to  constitute  a 
menace  or  threaten  disintegration  cannot  be  conceded ;  for 
individual  responsibility,  the  struggle  for  a  higher  and  a  purer 
life,  the  devotion  of  men  and  women  to  the  welfare  of  other 
men  and  women,  the  efforts  in  the  direction  of  rational  cul- 
ture, are  rather  strengthened  than  weakened  in  the  present 
half-century.  There  are  always  people  without  character  or 
without  sufficient  character  to  enable  them  to  support  a  family 
within  their  means ;  and  their  ambition  or  their  disposition 
to  gauge  human  welfare  by  bank  accounts  may  lead  them  into 
abnormal  relations,  which  occasion  disaster  to  true  family 
relations.  It  must  be  recognised,  however,  that  under  the 
modern  family  conditions  there  is  a  truer,  higher,  more  cordial 
respect  and  companionship  existing  among  all  the  members 
of  the  family  than  under  the  old  puritanical  environment,  in 
which  the  children  were  held  in  a  state  of  fear,  and  almost  of 
servitude.  Samuel  SewalPs  children  were  evidently  panic- 
stricken  by  their  father's  well-meant  conversation.  The  child 
of  judicious  parents  to-day  has  a  real  companionable  affection 
for  his  parents,  —  an  affection  which  leads  to  the  highest  form 
of  respect.  The  real  relations  of  father  and  mother  on  the 
one  hand  and  children  on  the  other  have  undergone  great 
changes  in  the  last  generation.  The  stern  parent  secured 
obedience,  but  it  was  a  government  of  fear.  In  America  such 
relations  are  now  little  known  among  educated  people  :  there 


72  Social  Units.  -[§37 

is  often  too  much  indulgence  and  too  little  respect  for  authority  ; 
but  the  ideal  family  government  is  one  of  loving  obedience, 
a  far  more  honourable  and  desirable  ideal.  The  real  integrity 
of  the  family  is  not  menaced  ;  the  decrease  in  size  may  be 
accounted  for  rationally,  and  the  family  will  ever  remain  in 
all  conditions  of  society  its  true  unit  and  its  keystone.  It  is 
the  natural,  most  'truly  religious  social  unit,  and  by  its  very 
conditions  stimulates  the  highest  social  service  of  its  members, 
leads  each  and  every  one  to  consider  the  welfare  and  the 
happiness  of  others,  and  establishes  what  Drummond  has 
called  the  purest  forms  of  "  other  selfishness  "  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  low  forms  of  selfishness.  Family  life,  when 
lived  under  true  conditions,  leads  to  the  establishment  of  the 
very  best  and  most  useful  instrumentalities  by  which  society 
grows,  and  by  which  it  recognises  the  wants  and  the  purposes 
of  the  individual  units. 

38.   The   Church. 

One  of  the  earliest  offices  of  the  family  was  in  the  direction 
of  religious  service.  The  patriarch  demanded  of  his  house- 
hold not  only  obedience  to  himself,  but  the  worship  of  God. 
Such  is  still  the  type  of  religion  in  China.  \Yhen  several 
families  recognised  a  unity  of  religious  ceremonials,  it  was 
very  natural  that  they  should  combine  and  conduct  their 
worship  at  stated  periods  and  independently  of  family  worship. 
Out  of  the  aspiration  for  more  public  recognition  of  this 
feature  of  family  life  grew  the  organisation  of  the  church,  and 
as  individuals  differ,  and  as  aims  differ,  on  account  of  varia- 
tion in  characteristics,  mental  powers,  and  temperaments,  the 
form  of  church  organisation  has  been  varied,  and  the  beliefs 
have  varied,  almost  as  extensively  as  the  varying  characteristics. 
The  church  has  been  typical  of  the  individual,  and  typical 
of.  the  family  also,  —  typical  of  the  individual  in  the  variety 
of  creeds,  forms,  and  ceremonies ;  typical  of  the  family  in 
the  endeavour  to  reach  solidarity  and  present  the  strength 
of  numbers  as  a  force  in  carrying  out  the  purposes  for  which 
the  church  was  organised. 


§38]  The  Church.  73 

As  the  members  of  a  family  were  of  course  expected  to  have 
the  same  ceremonial,  so  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  church 
was  for  ages  that  all  members  of  the  community  should  be 
a  part  of  it.  State  and  church  coincided,  not  because  one 
controlled  the  other,  but  because  they  were  identical  in  the 
persons  composing  them,  and  in  the  authority  which  regulated 
them.  In  the  United  States  there  has  been  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  colonies  a  different  conception,  —  that  there  might 
be  various  religious  beliefs  and  organisations  in  the  same 
political  community.  Hence  through  the  very  force  of  the 
principles  which  governed  the  early  settlers,  there  is  to  be 
found  great  variety  in  the  character  of  church  organisations. 

The  cause  of  this  variety  in  the  United  States  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  very  largely  by  the  fact  that  the  settlement  of  the 
country  was  by  dissenters,  so  far  as  the  Northern  colonies  were 
concerned,  and  that  since  the  Revolution  there  has  been  no 
State  religion,  though  there  have  been  some  State-supplied 
churches ;  hence  the  inhabitants  did  not  feel  bound  to  follow 
any  prescribed  form  of  worship.  The  very  principles  of 
Protestantism  led  them  into  varied  communions  and  induced 
them  to  adopt  different  theological  tenets.  The  governments 
always  fostered  perfect  freedom  in  church  matters ;  and  while 
for  many  years  there  was  very  strict  adherence  to  certain 
fundamental  tenets,  nevertheless  the  shadings  of  thought  were 
varied,  and  sometimes  very  great  in  degree.  The  influence 
of  immigration  also  tended  to  a  wide  divergence  pf  theological 
views.  The  schools  were  not  allowed  to  teach  any  particular 
doctrine  ;  the  very  institutions  of  the  country  were  against 
a  settled,  fixed  faith.  The  opportunity  of  inquiry  existed, 
and  any  man  could  teach  what  seemed  to  him  to  be  right, 
and  was  sure  to  find  followers.  It  is  perfectly  natural,  there- 
fore, that  the  United  States  presents  a  great  variety  of  religious 
and  theological  organisations. 

As  to  the  relative  strength  of  the  various  churches  in  this 
country,  we  have  no  very  precise  information.  In  the  census 
of  1890  the  general  facts  were  collected;  statistics  were 


74  Social  Units.  [§38 

gathered  which,  if  not  absolutely  correct,  are  valuable  in 
considering  the  denominational  tendencies  of  the  people.1 
According  to  the  census  of  1890,  there  were  143  separate 
denominations  specified,  besides  231  independent  Lutheran 
congregations  and  156  other  independent  congregations; 
165,177  different  church  organisations;  111,036  ministers, 
and  20,612,806  communicants  or  members.  The  number  of 
edifices  was  142,521,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  43,564,863. 
This  number,  however,  includes  an  approximate  duplication 
of  2,800,000  on  account  of  the  use  of  the  same  place  of  wor- 
ship by  more  than  one  congregation ;  but  in  addition  there 
were  23,334  halls,  schoolhouses,  including  some  private 
houses,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  2,450,858,  occupied  as 
places  of  worship  by  organisations  having  no  church  edifices 
of  their  own.  The  value  of  the  church  property  was 
$679.630,139.  One-third  of  the  total  population  of  the  United 
States  in  1890  were  communicants  or  members  of  churches, 
while  the  seating  capacity  of  the  edifices  was  sufficient  to 
accommodate  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  whole  population 
at  one  time  if  fully  occupied.  Probably  each  communicant 
represented  one  or  more  additional  church  attendants. 

The  great  influence  of  churches  on  society  at  large,  and 
even  upon  the  legislation  of  the  country,  must  be  recognised. 
While  the  Federal  constitution  and  most  of  the  State  consti- 
tutions do  not  recognize  any  church  organisation,  or  even  the 
existence  of  God,  they  are,  nevertheless,  framed  on  the  basis 
of  a  Christian  government ;  in  fact,  a  constitutional  State  must 
be  a  Christian  State,  and  while,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is 
a  great  variety  of  denominational  orders  and  many  phases  of 
theological  belief,  the  people  as  a  whole  are  ready  to  co- 
operate on  the  great  essential  features  of  a  religious  life,  and 
this  co-operation  is  reflected  in  marked  degree  in  the  constitu- 
tions and  laws  of  the  country. 

1  Report  on  Churches,  Eleventh  Census  ;  church  statistics  for  the 
Twelfth  not  yet  collected. 


§39]  Church  Government.  75 

39.     Church  Government. 

There  is  great  variety  in  the  form  of  church  government, 
ranging  from  the  hierarchical  form  of  the  Catholic  Church  to 
the  free  and  independent  methods  adopted  by  Congregational 
churches ;  in  some  cases  two  religious  bodies  having  substan- 
tially the  same  doctrine,  as  the  Congregationalists  and  the 
Presbyterians,  differ  in  church  government ;  or  two  bodies  with 
a  similar  form  of  a  government  may  differ  widely  in  doctrine  : 
thus,  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  has  an  organisation  akin 
to  that  of  the  English  Church  ;  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
has  a  similar  organisation,  with  much  emphasis  on  the  lay  ele- 
ment. The  Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Unitarians,  Univer- 
salists,  and  many  other  bodies  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
no  ecclesiastical  power  higher  than  each  single  church,  though 
they  assemble  in  consultative  bodies. 

The  word  "  church  "  and  the  word  "  parish  "  are  often  used 
in  the  United  States  as  synonymous,  although  a  "  parish  "  is 
in  New  England  the  business  organisation,  while  the  church  is 
the  spiritual  body  within  the  parish.  The  officers  of  the 
"  parish  "  or  "society  "  take  care  of  all  temporal  affairs,  control 
property,  etc. ;  while  the  spiritual  organisation  known  as  the 
"  church  "  admits  members  who  are  professors  of  the  particular 
faith  of  the  denomination  involved.  The  term  "  parish  "  more 
generally  belongs  to  the  Congregational  churches  of  all  kinds, 
which  are  found  in  the  East  more  largely  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  country.  Every  church  organisation,  or  at  least 
every  important  denominational  body,  has  some  central  board 
that  attends  to  its  general  business  affairs,  —  such  as  the  dis- 
tribution of  literature  pertaining  to  the  particular  denomina- 
tion, and  those  orders  which  do  much  in  the  way  of  home  and 
foreign  missions  have  boards  or  committees  of  a  national  char- 
acter especially  authorised  to  carry  on  the  work  committed  to 
them,  and  acknowledge  a  responsibility  to  the  church  assembly. 
In  the  Catholic  Church  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  church  is 
exercised  through  bishops  appointed  by  the  head  of  the  church 


76  Social  Units.  [§39 

in  Rome,  and  the  title  to  all  property  is  vested  in  the  same 
bishops. 

The  Lutherans,  while  preserving  something  of  some  phases 
of  the  Catholic  faith,  have  become  more  republican  in  their 
government,  adopting  a  council  or  a  synod  for  the  government 
of  their  organisations,  although  that  of  the  congregations  differs 
somewhat  in  the  various  bodies.  Usually  there  is  a  church 
council  composed  of  lay  elders  and  deacons,  or  sometimes 
of  the  deacons  alone  and  the  pastor,  which  council  is  charged 
with  the  administration  of  its  affairs.  The  Presbyterians  prob- 
ably have  the  most  systematic  form  of  church  government  of 
any  Protestant  order  in  the  United  States,  the  lowest  body 
being  known  as  the  sessions,  governing  individual  congrega- 
tions ;  the  next  higher  body  is  the  presbytery,  then  the  synod, 
and  finally  the  general  assembly,  there  being  in  some  instances 
appellate  jurisdiction  from  the  one  to  the  other.  The  Episco- 
pal Church  has  its  bishops,  and  some  ecclesiastical  power-  is 
vested  in  them.  A  Methodist-Episcopal  church  government  is 
a  combination  of  the  Episcopal  forms  and  the  Congregational- 
ist.  Nearly  all  other  denominations  conform  more  closely  to 
the  Congregational  methods,  under  which  each  church  governs 
its  own  affairs,  the  conferences,  assemblies,  etc.,  being  practi- 
cally advisory  boards  rather  than  governments.  While  the 
Southern  colonies  were  settled  more  especially  by  people  com- 
ing from  the  Church  of  England,  and  conforming  in  their 
church  organisations  to  that  body,  nevertheless  as  time  has 
gone  on,  the  influences  of  denominational  variety  have  been 
felt ;  so  that  to-day  the  same  general  characteristics  are  to  be 
found  there  that  are  met  with  in  other  parts  of  the  Union. 

40.     Secular  Societies. 

It  is  very  natural  that  there  should  be  found  many  societies  of 
a  secular  nature,  and  having  a  very  great  variety  of  purposes.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  such  organisations;  but  most 
of  them  —  all  of  them,  in  fact  —  have  been  organised  for  the  pur- 
pose of  benefiting  a  group  or  groups  of  people.  There  are  socie- 


§40]  Secular  Societies.  77 

ties  whose  purpose  it  is  to  develop  scientific  and  philosophical 
research,  or  the  musical  and  literary  taste  of  the  people,  to  secure 
intellectual  or  material  benefits  of  all  kinds ;  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  special  ideas  of  reform,  for  counteracting  and  overcom- 
ing evils,  for  the  advancement  of  social  desires,  and  for  almost 
every  conceivable  purpose  for  which  a  band  of  devotees  might 
organise.  It  is  impossible  to  give  data  comprehending  all 
such  units.  Statistics  exist,  however,  by  which  the  strength, 
purpose,  and  achievements  of  certain  classes  of  societies  may  be 
ascertained,1  and  mention  may  be  made  of  a  few  of  the  most 
important  of  these. 

Among  the  secret  societies  the  various  orders  of  Free 
Masons  are  perhaps  the  oldest  in  this  country.  The  Masonic 
Grand  Lodges  embrace,  according  to  the  latest  account  (that 
for  1901),  902,601  members;  and  the  Odd  Fellows,  another 
secret  order,  numbered  1,027,628.  These  great  orders  have 
for  their  object  mutual  aid  and  the  cultivation  of  social  qualities. 
The  Knights  of  Pythias,  another  secret  order,  has  516,944 
members.  All  these  orders  have  connected  with  them  certain 
beneficiary  functions  ;  for  instance,  the  Odd  Fellows  expended 
for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1900,  $3,876,926  in  reliev- 
ing members  and  widowed  families,  in  the  education  of  orphans, 
and  in  burying  the  dead.  The  order  of  the  Knights  of  Honour 
has  disbursed  in  benefits  since  its  organisation  in  1873  more 
than  $74,000,000,  and  the  Royal  Arcanum  over  $67,000,000 
since  1877.  The  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  has  paid 
in  benefits  since  its  organisation  in  1873  over  $112,000,000; 
the  Ancient  Order  of  Foresters  has  disbursed  since  1836 
$116,000,000;  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America,  founded  in 
1877,  has  expended  in  benefits  since  its  organisation  nearly 
$11,000,000,  and  during  its  last  fiscal  year  paid  out  over 
$700,000  as  benefits  to  its  members.  The  various  fraternal 
organisations  embrace  6,102,663  members. 

There    are   many  societies   organised  for  reform  purposes, 

1  For  many  valuable  details  of  various  societies,  see  current  almanacs, 
especially  that  published  by  the  New  York  "  World." 


78  Social  Units.  [§  40 

like  the  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  over  400,000,  and  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  embracing  nearly  half  a  million. 

Among  the  religious  or  semi-religious  societies,  which  can- 
not be  classed  as  churches,  must  be  mentioned  the  Baptist 
Young  People's  Union  of  America  ;  the  Young  People's  Chris- 
tian Union,  with  nearly  80,000  members ;  the  Young  People's 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  with  a  membership  of  over 
3,600,000 ;  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  with  a 
membership  of  nearly  270,000;  the  Young  Woman's  Christian 
Association,  with  35,000  active  members;  and  the  Epworth 
League,  with  nearly  2,000,000  members.  In  addition  to  these 
there  are  the  King's  Daughters  and  Sons,  the  Daughters  of  the 
King,  the  Brotherhood  of  Saint  Andrew  and  Philip,  the  Society 
of  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul,  the  White  Cross  Society,  the  Chris- 
tian Science  societies,  the  Theosophical  Society  of  America, 
etc. 

Nearly  every  phase  of  scientific  work  is  represented  by  a 
society  organised  by  the  most  learned  teachers.  Among  the 
more  important  of  these  organisations  may  be  mentioned  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  exceedingly  limited  and  exclu- 
sive in  its  membership,  and  an  honour  to  this  country  and  to 
science  itself;  the  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  ; 
the  American  Social  Science  Association ;  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association  ;  the  American  Economic  Association ;  the 
American  Historical  Association ;  the  American  Statistical  As- 
sociation ;  the  biological,  anthropological,  and  many  other 
societies  working  along  the  lines  of  their  respective  sciences. 
The  literary  and  historical  societies  are  perhaps  the  most 
numerous  of  all.  In  all  the  States  and  large  cities  there  are 
such  organisations  devoted  to  the  work  of  securing  original 
historical  data  and  developing  a  love  for  the  study  of  history. 
The  enumeration  of  such  societies  alone  and  of  their  publica- 
tions fills  a  large  volume  issued  by  the  American  Historical 
Association. 


§41]  Patriotic  Societies.  79 

41.    Patriotic  Societies. 

Then  there  is  a  great  group  of  societies  usually  designated 
as  patriotic  organisations,  whose  purpose  is  to  stimulate  the 
sentiment  of  patriotism  and  to  preserve  in  memory  the  deeds 
of  the  fathers.  In  nearly  all  of  them  would-be  members  must 
prove  their  connection  with  certain  events  or  prove  descent 
from  certain  classes  or  races  of  persons.  Among  the  more 
important  societies  of  this  kind  are  the  Society  of  Mayflower 
Descendants,  the  Huguenot  Society  of  America,  various  Irish 
national  organisations,  Society  of  Colonial  Wars,  and  the 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  which  is  composed  of  the  lineal 
descendants  of  the  officers  of  tlj,e  Revolution,  the  Sons  of  the 
Revolution,  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  the  objects  of 
these  two  being  practically  the  same,  —  to  keep  alive  among 
the  members  and  their  descendants  the  patriotic  spirit  of  the 
men  who  in  military,  naval,  or  civil  service,  by  their  acts  or 
counsel,  achieved  American  independence.  Their  purpose 
also  is  to  collect  and  secure  for  preservation  manuscripts,  rolls, 
records,  and  other  documents  relating  to  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  to  promote  intercourse  and  good  feeling  among  its 
members  now  and  hereafter.  There  are  also  The  Military 
Order  of  Foreign  Wars,  including  hereditary  companions  ;  the 
Naval  Order  of  the  United  States,  consisting  of  officers  and 
descendants  of  officers  who  served  in  the  navy  and  marine 
corps ;  and  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  which  fol- 
lows the  general  plan  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  embrac- 
ing in  its  membership  officers  and  ex-officers  of  the  army, 
navy,  and  marine  corps  of  the  United  States  who  took  part  in 
the  Civil  War  of  1861-65,  membership  descending  to  the 
eldest  direct  male  lineal  descendant,  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  primogeniture.  The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  is 
on  a  broader  scale  than  that  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  its 
membership  is  open  to  all  who  served  in  the  Civil  War  and 
who  were  honourably  discharged.  This  order  now  embraces 
about  270,000  members. 


80  Social  Units.  [§  41 

Among  other  orders  are  the  National  Association  of  Naval 
Veterans,  the  Regular  Army  and  Navy  Union,  and  the  Sons  of 
War  Veterans,  Sons  of  Veterans,  Union  Veteran  Legion,  Union 
Veterans'  Union,  and  the  societies  of  different  army  corps 
engnged  in  the  Civil  War,  Comrades  of  the  Battlefield,  etc. ; 
and  organisations  growing  out  of  the  Spanish-American  War, 
the  chief  of  which  are  The  Society  of  the  Army  of  Santiago  de 
Cuba,  the  Naval  and  Military  Order  of  the  Spanish-American 
War,  Society  of  Spanish  War  Veterans,  and  the  Rough  Riders' 
Association. 

Congress  has  recognised  the  military  societies  of  the  coun- 
try by  a  joint  resolution  approved  September,  1890,  which 
provides  "  that  the  distinctive  badges  adopted  by  military 
societies  of  men  who  served  in  the  armies  and  navies  of  the 
United  States  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  the  War  of  1812, 
the  Mexican  War,  and  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  respectively, 
may  be  worn  upon  all  occasions  of  ceremony  by  officers  and 
enlisted  men  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  who 
are  members  of  said  organisations  in  their  own  right." 

The  Confederate  veterans  have  also  organised  societies,  the 
avowed  purpose  of  which  is  strictly  social,  literary,  historical, 
and  beneficial.  The  Confederate  Veterans'  motto  is  to  per- 
petuate the  memories,  but  not  the  animosities  of  the  Civil 
War.  There  is  also  another  organisation,  the  United  Sons  of 
Confederate  Veterans. 

The  women  of  the  country  have  not  been  slow  in  organising 
patriotic  societies,  among  the  most  important  of  which  are 
Colonial  Dames  of  America,  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  Dames  of  the  Revolution, 
United  Daughters,  1812,  and  Mount  Vernon  Ladies  Association: 

42.   Clubs. 

Akin  to  the  organisations  already  mentioned  is  another 
group  or  series  of  organisations  known  as  clubs,  chiefly  organ- 
ised for  common  social  purposes,  but  centres  for  the  discussion 
of  the  problems  of  the  day,  and  often  engaged  in  active  work 
of  reform.  The  so-called  "  house  clubs  "  have  become  in  the 


§42j  Clubs.  81 

United  States  an  important  part  of  the  social  life  of  the  well- 
to-do,  but  many  vigorous  clubs  have  no  property,  and  their  club 
life  is  confined  to  social  or  business  meetings.  In  many  cases 
they  are  made  up  of  specific  trades  or  industries,  or  callings 
in  life,  such  as  the  Merchants'  Clubs,  Commercial  Clubs,  the 
Paint  and  Oil  Clubs,  the  Arkwright  Clubs,  consisting  of  textile 
manufacturers  and  dealers.  All  these  organisations  exert  a 
very  great  influence  in  society,  and  especially  in  political  mat- 
ters. They  help  to  form  public  opinion  on  many  important 
questions,  and  are  a  very  great  power  in  the  country,  even 
though  organised  ostensibly  for  social  purposes.  In  several 
large  cities  there  are  to  be  found  the  Union  or  Union  League 
Clubs,  which  had  a  great  influence  during  and  after  the  Civil 
War  as  centres  of  patriotic  organisation. 

The  women  of  the  country  have  organised  clubs  on  the 
general  principles  described  above,  and  devote  themselves  to 
social  and  literary  work  with  an  admirable  assiduity  and  sense 
of  duty.  There  is  now  a  chain  of  women's  clubs  organised  in 
the  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  consisting  of  more  than 
3,275  organisations,  with  an  estimated  membership  of  over 
211,000.  These  organisations  are  taking  up  many  of  the 
practical  questions  of  life.  At  their  meetings  they  discuss 
social  economics,  ethical  relations,  and  the  best  means  of  en- 
lightening, and  edifying  their  members. 

The  working  girls  of  large  cities  have  of  late  years  organised 
themselves  in  club  form,  having  for  their  purposes  the  better- 
ment of  their  condition.  They  are  more  philosophical  than 
aggressive  ;  but  they  are  quietly  making  their  influence  felt, 
and  in  many  ways  seek  the  uplifting  of  their  members.  They 
hold  an  annual  national  convention,  where  they  present  their 
views  of  the  social,  moral,  and  economic  conditions  in  their 
respective  communities.  In  all  the  present  earnest  and  wide- 
spread endeavour  after  a  true  social  unity,  no  movement  counts 
for  more  than  that  of  the  Working  Girls'  Associations ;  they 
recognise  the  principle  of  social  exchange,  —  that  every  one 
has  something  to  give  as  well  as  to  receive ;  they  contribute 


82  Social  Units.  [§42 

the  priceless  gift  of  the  inspiration  which  comes  from  the  cour- 
age, the  hopefulness,  and  the  joy  of  those  who  are  reaching 
toward  higher  things.  They  recognise  also  the  principle  of 
social  education,  for  each  benefits  by  the  influence  of  some  in- 
dividual who  brings  into  the  group  the  better  manners,  the 
surer  knowledge,  the  truer  purpose.  They  are  making  unsel- 
fishness more  of  a  habit ;  they  give  the  natural  opportunity  to 
do  for  others,  which,  if  lacking,  we  are  unable  to  get  out  of 
ourselves.1 

Another  group  of  centres  of  social  organisation  is  in  the 
clubs,  to  be  found  in  many  States  and  cities,  made  up  of 
graduates  of  a  particular  college,  or  of  persons  from  a  particu- 
lar State. 

43.     Benevolent  Associations. 

A  very  large  part  of  the  charity  work  of  the  country,  as  well 
as  the  philanthropic  and  benevolent  undertakings,  is  in  charge 
of  societies.  Churches,  of  course,  are  important  instrumen- 
talities in  all  charitable  and  philanthropic  work,  but  the  great 
organisations  in  our  large  cities,  known  as  Associated  Charities, 
have  undertaken  the  systematic  dispensation  of  charity,  with  a 
view  to  seeing  that  all  assistance  is  given  worthily.  There  is  a 
National  Conference  of  Charities,  which  discusses  the  best 
means  of  conducting  charitable  work,  the  relief  of  the  unem- 
ployed, and  every  feature  and  phase  of  philanthropy,  and 
issues  an  annual  report  of  its  sessions.  Many  of  the  States 
have  Boards  of  State  Charities,  official  bodies  which  work  under 
the  law. 

In  many  localities  there  are  Prison  Associations,  made  up  of 
volunteers  who  organise  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  discharged 
convicts  ;  and  these  bodies  send  representatives  to  a  national 
association.  There  is  also  a  volunteer  body  known  as  the 
Prison  Congress,  which  undertakes  to  shape  public  opinion 
relative  to  criminology  and  penology  and  the  best  methods  of 

'  Cf.  Address  of  President  William  J.  Tucker  at  Second  National 
Conrention  of  Working  Girls'  Clubs  in  the  United  States,  Boston,  1894. 


§§  43. 44]  Labour  Organisations.  83 

employing  prisoners.  The  exchange  of  views,  and  the  circula- 
tion of  information  about  new  methods  and  results  in  these 
societies  and  their  publications,  are  some  of  the  strongest  forces 
favourable  to  social  reform. 

44.     Labour   Organisations. 

There  is  another  class  of  social  units  to  which  attention 
should  be  called.  They  are  both  social  and  industrial  units, 
and  consist  of  the  organisation  of  wage-earners  into  societies 
or  clubs,  known  as  trades-unions,  or  other  kindred  bodies. 
Trades-unionism  is  not  a  new  thing  in  the  world ;  it  has  ex- 
isted for  a  period  long  prior  to  the  Christian  era ;  it  flourished 
under  the  Roman  Empire,  and  was  the  basis  of  mediaeval  in- 
dustrial organisation,  but  its  development  in  modern  times  has 
been  along  different  lines  and  determined  by  the  modern  sys- 
tem of  industry.  In  England  the  institution  of  trades-unions 
has  been  longest  established,  and  is  most  effective,  but  it  is 
also  firmly  rooted  in  the  United  States.  A  trades-union  is  an 
organisation  comprising  the  members  of  a  single  trade,  like  the 
Spinners'  Union,  the  Iron  Moulders'  Union,  the  Brotherhood 
of  Locomotive  Engineers,  divided  into  local  bodies  or  unions. 
Many  of  these  unions  are  represented  in  a  national  body, 
known  as  the  American  Federation  of  Labour,  the  total  number 
of  members  in  the  affiliated  local  unions  being  about  1,000,000. 
This  national  order  was  organised  December,  1886,  though  it 
had  several  predecessors,  under  various  names.  The  great 
railway  brotherhood  organisations,  known  as  the  Order  of 
Railway  Conductors,  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers, 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen,  and  Brotherhood  of 
Railroad  Trainmen,  are  the  principal  powerful  unions  not 
affiliated  with  the  American  Federation  of  Labour. 

The  object  of  the  Federation  is  the  encouragement  an  1 
formation  of  local  trades  and  labour  unions,  and  the  closer 
federation  of  such  societies  through  the  organisation  of  centrnl 
trades-unions  in  every  State  ;  and  the  further  combination  of 
such  bodies  into  State,  territorial,  or  provincial  organisations,  to 


84  Social  Units.  [§44 

the  end  that  legislation  in  the  interest  of  the  working  masses  may 
be  secured.  It  is  in  no  sense  a  secret  order,  nor  is  it  an  order 
which  claims  the  individual  allegiance  of  members ;  it  is  thor- 
oughly democratic  and  representative  in  its  character.  It  is 
not  a  centralised  power,  but  a  federation  ;  it  strives  for  the  uni- 
fication of  all  labour,  and  encourages  local  organisations  in 
securing  more  stable  wages  and  employment,  and  in  the  edu- 
cation of  its  members  in  economic  conditions. 

The  usual  demand  of  trades-unions,  local  or  national,  is  a 
reduction  of  the  hours  of  labour,  commonly  to  eight  hours  as 
a  day's  work  ;  they  favour  obligatory  education  of  all  children 
and  the  prohibition  of  their  employment  under  certain  ages  ; 
they  favour  the  enactment  of  uniform  franchise  laws ;  they 
oppose  contract  convict  labour,  and  often  urge  the  prohibition 
of  the  importation  of  foreign  labourers  ;  they  work  against  the 
truck  system  for  payment  of  wages  ;  they  insist  upon  the  abro- 
gation of  all  so-called  conspiracy  laws,1  and  of  the  system  of  con- 
tracts for  public  work  ;  they  favour  the  adoption  by  States  of 
employers'  liability  acts. 

Another  large  society  or  order  involving  working  men  and 
women  is  the  Knights  of  Labour,  organised  in  Philadelphia  in 
1869.  This  body  not  only  strives  for  the  usual  purposes  of 
trades-unions  ;  it  goes  beyond,  by  the  endeavour  to  unify  wage- 
earners  without  regard  to  the  trades  followed  ;  it  recognises 
local  assemblies  of  distinct  trades,  to  be  sure,  but  also  admits 
mixed  assemblies,  embracing  different  trades,  and  represented 
in  the  national  body.  The  professed  aim  of  the  Knights  of 
Labour  is  to  secure  the  fullest  enjoyment  of  wealth,  which  they 
claim  is  created  by  workers ;  leisure  for  the  development  of 
their  intellectual,  moral,  and  social  faculties ;  and  all  the  bene- 
fits, recreations,  and  pleasures  which  come  of  association ;  and 
they  have  ever  been  ready  to  join  in  any  movement  which  will 
enable  them  to  share  in  the  gains  and  honour  of  advancing 
civilisation.  The  Knights  of  Labour  have  purposes  rather 

1  See  title  "Conspiracy,"  in  chapter  xvi.,  on  Questions  Relating  to 
Strikes  and  Lockouts. 


§44  Labour  Organisations.  85 

more  socialistic  than  those  of  most  trades-unionists,  inasmuch 
as  they  demand  legislation  which  shall  secure  municipal  con- 
trol of  various  services  and  industries,  the  adoption  of  the 
referendum  in  State  legislation,  and  similar  radical  changes. 
The  Knights  of  Labour  claim  a  membership  of  about  50,000. 

A  few  years  ago  an  organisation  known  as  the  American 
Railway  Union  was  created,  and  showed  its  power  in  the  great 
Chicago  strike  of  1894.  It  has  now  given  place  to  a  society 
or  body  known  as  the  Social  Democracy  of  America,  whose 
demands  include  the  public  ownership  of  all  industries  con- 
trolled by  monopolies,  trusts,  and  combines  ;  of  all  railroad, 
telegraph,  and  telephone  communication ;  of  all  means  of 
transportation  ;  of  all  water-works,  gas  and  electric  light  plants, 
and  all  other  public  utilities.  The  membership  of  this  most 
recent  order  is  not  known  at  present. 

Many  labour  organisations,  especially  the  local  unions  con- 
nected with  the  Typographical  Union,  and  some  others,  have 
benefit  features,  under  which  they  provide  for  relief  in  case  of 
the  sickness  of  members,  and  burial  funds  in  case  of  death. 

In  addition  to  the  orders  above  mentioned  there  are  many 
local  organisations  on  the  general  plan  of  the  trades-unions, 
and  including  the  combination  of  work  people  with  a  view  to 
bettering  their  conditions.  Labour  organisations  will  grow  and 
become  more  powerful  as  capital  becomes  more  concentrated, 
and  the  present  method  of  production  under  the  great  aggre- 
gate system  becomes  more  extended,  These  trade  and  labour 
societies,  under  whatever  name,  are  powerful  social  units  ;  their 
stability  and  tenure  depend  upon  the  recognition  of  the  moral 
force  which  lies  within  their  power,  and  the  intelligence  with 
which  they  perform  their  part  as  members  of  the  body  politic. 
The  similarity  of  their  organisation  to  that  of  the  political  or- 
ganisations of  the  country  is  very  striking.  They  have  units 
consisting  of  local  bodies,  district  and  state  organisations,  and 
finally  a  federal  or  national  body,  consisting  of  delegates  from 
the  lower  units.  In  some  cases  the  national  body  has  a  posi- 
tive executive  function  and  voice  in  the  work  of  the  local  unions, 


86  Social  Units.  [§44 

while  in  some  of  the  organisations,  especially  the  American 
Federation  of  Labour,  it  can  only  suggest.  Nearly  every  such 
society  deprecates  resort  to  strikes,  but  when  they  consider 
strikes  inevitable  they  are  usually  ready  to  aid  in  carrying  out 
the  purpose  involved.  They  are  closely  akin  to  the  other  social 
units  that  have  been  considered,  and  must  be  reckoned  among 
the  most  important  industrial  and  social  forces  of  the  time. 

45.    Legal  Obligations  of  Social  Units. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  all  the  associations  considered 
under  social  units  are  volunteer  bodies.  They  must,  however, 
conduct  their  work  in  thorough  obedience  to  law.  They  can- 
not in  any  way  contravene  existing  statutory  regulations,  and 
it  has  never  been  the  purpose  of  any  of  them  to  override  the 
legal  conditions  of  society  as  established  by  legislatures  and  the 
courts.  These  societies,  clubs,  bodies,  —  whatever  they  may 
be  called,  —  as  a  rule,  have  their  own  constitutions  and  by- 
laws, which  govern  their  membership  and  their  actions.  Many 
of  them  are  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  where 
they  exist,  or  under  federal  laws.  A  great  advantage  of  incor- 
poration is  that  the  societies  become  persons  in  the  eye  of  the 
law,  and  can  sue  and  be  sued,  and  hold  property,  and  do  all 
those  things  which  an  individual  can  do  under  the  regulations 
relating  to  incorporations ;  and  the  liability  of  members  of 
incorporated  societies  is  limited  by  the  law.  Individuals  asso- 
ciated together,  and  members  of  societies  that  do  not  seek 
incorporation  are,  as  a  rule,  individually  liable  for  the  debts  of 
the  association  to  which  they  belong,  like  partners  in  a  general 
copartnership.  As  a  condition  of  the  special  privileges  of 
incorporated  societies,  the  State  may,  and  usually  does,  reserve 
the  right  to  require  publication  of  their  financial  operations  and 
conformity  to  restrictions  in  their  methods  of  doing  business. 

46.    The  Influence  of  Societies. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  entire  membership  of 
all  these  societies,  but  it  would  be  impossible  to  obtain  such  a 


§46]         Legal  Obligations  —  Influence.          87 

result,  as  many  persons  are  to  be  found  in  various  societies, 
thus  duplicating  and  triplicating  members.  So  in  the  secret 
orders  and  military  orders  many  men  belong  to  several ;  but  it 
is  reasonable  to  say  that,  taking  them  all  together,  they  com- 
prise at  least  as  large  a  membership  as  that  contained  in  the 
churches  of  all  denominations.  The  aims  of  most  of  these 
societies  are  ethical  in  their  nature,  and  they  do  a  vast  amount 
of  good  in  a  quiet  way  by  making  men  acquainted,  by  aiding 
the  suffering,  and  by  strengthening  the  sentiment  of  common 
weal. 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  brief  account  of  a  few  of  the  principal 
organisations  and  clubs  that  society  is  completely  honeycombed 
by  such  organisations.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  have 
the  people  been  so  fully  engaged  in  organised  work  along  every 
conceivable  line  as  at  the  present  time.  This  fact  shows  the 
universal  application  of  the  principle  of  association  :  we  have 
learned  that  only  by  organised  effort  can  much  influence  be 
exerted  in  the  shaping  of  public  sentiment  and  opinion.  The 
question  is,  Will  the  expansion  continue,  and  will  the  system 
be  exerted  in  the  future,  as  at  present,  for  the  uplifting  of  the 
race?  Other  countries  have  worked  along  the  same  lines, 
especially  those  speaking  the  English  language,  but  all  civilisa- 
tions at  present  are  finding  the  best  opportunities  for  individual 
activity  of  the  highest  form  in  societies  which  have  specific  aims. 
If  each  recognises  the  duty  and  the  opportunity  of  the  others, 
their  work  will  be  harmonious,  ethical,  and  beneficial ;  if  the 
method  results  in  clannishness,  exclusiveness,  or  the  endeavour 
to  propagate  ideas  that  are  not  ethical,  not  only  will  disaster 
come  to  the  societies  and  clubs  themselves,  but  great  harm 
\yill  come  to  society  at  large. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

POLITICAL   UNITS. 

47.  References. 

James  Bryce,  The  American  Commonwealth  ;  V>.  A.  Hinsdale,  American 
Government;  T.  M.  Cooley,  Principles  of  .Constitutional  Law,  ch.  ix.  ;  W. 
W.  and  W.  F.  Willoughby,  Government  and  Administration  of  the  United 
States ;  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  (Local  Institutions);  Benjamin 
Harrison,  This  Country  of  Ours  ;  Edward  Stamvoud,  History  of  1'residen- 
tial  Elections;  E.  A.  Freeman,  Comparative  Politics ;  John  Fiske,  Civil 
Government  in  the  United  States,  American  Political  Ideas,  and  Old  Vir- 
ginia and  her  Neighbors,  Vol.  II.  29-38,  and  324;  Reuben  Gold  Thwaites, 
T/ie  Colonies,  §§  24,  Si,  and  86;  Edward  Charming,  Town  and  County 
Governments  in  the  English  Colonies  of  North  America,  Johns  Hopkins 
University  Studies  ;  Mellen  Chamberlain,  John  Adams,  187;  Alexander 
Brown,  The  Genesis  of  tlie  United  States  ;  Sydney  J.  Chapman,  Local  Gov- 
ernment and  State  Aid ;  Elisha  Mulford,  The  Nation ;  Westel  \V.  Wil- 
loughby, An  Examination  of  the  Nature  of the  Slate  ;  Goldwin  Smith,  The 
United  States :  An  Outline  of  Political  History;  Alexander  Johnston, 
History  of  American  Politics;  Anna  L.  Dawes,  How  We  Are  Governed ; 
Woodrow  Wilson,  The  State ;  Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  Practical  Essays  on 
American  Government ;  Schwinn  and  Stevenson,  Civil  Government;  }. 
R.  Flickinger,  Civil  Government;  Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of  Soci- 
ology, II.  part  v.  ;  Lester  F.  Ward,  T/ie  Psychic  Factors  cf  Civilization; 
F.  Sigel,  Sociology  Applied  to  Politics  ;  Annals  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Political  and  Social  Science,  No.  226,  May  31,  (898;  Bibliography  in 
George  E.  Howard,  Local  Constitutional  History,  I.  and  in  Brookings  and 
Ringvvalt,  Briefs  for  Debate,  §§  i.-xix. 

48.  The  State. 

Even  among  savages  social  units  are  restrained  and  limited 
by  a  complex  organisation  which  in  its  highest  form  has  many 
phases  and  functions,  but  which  in  its  entirety  is  summed  up  in 
the  term  "the  state"  or  "  the  nation."  We  must  not,  how- 
ever, confound  the  words  "  state  "  and  "  nation  "  with  the  word 
"  government."  The  state  or  the  nation  is  the  people  living 
within  certain  geographical  limits,  and  though  there  may  be 


§48]  The  State.  89 

certain  distinctions  between  the  two  words,  for  the  purposes 
of  this  discussion  they  are  synonymous.  They  represent  a 
body  of  people  having,  in  general,  like  sentiments,  feelings, 
and  aims,  to  carry  out  which  they  originate  some  organic  law 
which  provides  for  ministers  or  officers,  and  they  constitute  the 
government,  which  is  but  the  agent  of  the  people  in  executing 
the  laws  they  have  ordained. 

The  State  can  change  its  organic  law,  but  the  government 
cannot,  although  it  can  suggest  changes  in  the  law  under  which 
it  acts  and  by  which  it  carries  out  the  aims  of  the  people  ;  but 
the  suggested  changes  cannot  be  made  without  the  direction 
of  the  people  or  their  representatives.  The  solidity  and  the 
stability  of  the  organic  law,  therefore,  rest  with  the  people  of 
the  nation  under  most  forms  of  government,  while  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  execution  of  the  laws  rests  with  the  government, 
the  people's  agent.  Under  various  forms  the  people  can 
change  the  ministers  which  constitute  the  government,  either 
through  the  action  of  the  monarch  or  through  the  elective 
franchise. 

There  are  various  kinds  of  States,  embodying  pure  democ- 
racies, where  the  laws  are  made  by  the  people  through  a  direct 
vote  and  are  executed  by  their  agents ;  oligarchies,  where  the 
laws  are  made  by  a  small  aristocratic  class  claiming  to  be 
the  legal  people  ;  monarchies,  where  the  government  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  single  individual,  whose  actions  are  restrained  more 
or  less  by  the  laws,  customs,  and  traditions  of  the  State  over 
which  he  presides,  some  monarchies  having  written  constitu- 
tions which  guide  the  legislation  or  the  decrees  that  are 
crystallised  into  law,  but  more  generally  what  are  known  as 
the  constitutions  of  monarchies  are  not  written  but  are  found 
in  the  body  of  legislation  regulating  the  government ;  repub- 
lics, which  are  democratic  in  principle,  but  whose  laws  are 
made  by  representatives  chosen  by  the  people,  thus  securing 
the  strength  of  a  democracy  through  the  direct  choice  of  the 
individual  units  of  their  ministers  and  agents,  the  governments 
of  the  various  States  of  the  Union  being  an  exemplification  of 


90  Political  Units.  [§48 

this  form  ;  federations,  which  consist  of  an  association  of  States, 
with  a  general  or  imperial  government  which  has  certain  func- 
tions and  powers  relative  to  all  the  units  of  the  federation. 

49.   Sovereignty. 

The  form  of  a  State,  however,  is  not  the  characteristic  of 
most  importance,  for  social  exigencies  are  now  constantly  ask- 
ing, What  can  the  State  do?  and  the  conception  of  the  extent 
of  the  power  of  the  State  is  summed  up  in  the  single  term 
"  sovereignty."  In  every  true  State  there  is  a  sovereign  power, 
which  represents  the  social  conscience  and  must  necessarily 
be  the  servant  of  the  social  will.  The  most  perfected  church 
organisation  needs,  not  a  guide  perhaps,  but  a  committee  to 
take  care  of  its  affairs ;  so  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a 
community  in  which  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  anybody 
delegated  to  perform  ministerial  acts.  A  perfected  State  will 
always  need  some  minister  of  the  law,  whose  duty  it  will  be  to 
expend  the  money  of  the  people,  see  that  all  social  regulations 
are  enforced,  that  educational  interests  are  developed,  and 
that  all  moral  and  ethical  relations  are  stimulated  and  encour- 
aged. These  are  the  things  which  the  people  themselves  want 
carried  out.  This  sovereignty  is  with  them,  and  does  not  lie 
in  the  artificial  organisation  which  society  creates.  Most  peo- 
ple would  find  it  difficult  to  prevent  their  minds  from  reaching 
out  to  the  source  of  all  power  and  giving  to  the  nation  a  com-, 
mission  for  its  existence  higher  than  that  which  it  receives  from 
the  individual  components  thereof;  but  this  idea  need  not  an- 
tagonise the  material  source  of  sovereignty,  —  the  will  of  the 
people,  • —  or  antagonise  the  recognition  of  the  source  from 
which  the  parent  in  dealing  with  his  child  derives  his  power,  a 
power  from  which  the  conscience  emanates,  whether  in  public 
or  in  private  action. 

50.     Ordinary  Units  of  Government. 

In  the  administrative  affairs  of  the  State  it  has  been  found 
convenient  for  ages  to  subdivide  the   powers  of  government 


§51]         Sovereignty;   Ordinary  Units.  91 

among  at  least  three  or  more  sets  of  appliances  corresponding 
to  three  or  more  degrees  of  central  subdivision.  It  would  be 
unwieldy  and  quite  impossible  for  any  general  government  rep- 
resenting large  groups  to  undertake  the  detailed  execution  of 
law  or  the  management  of  minor  affairs.  The  central  govern- 
ment is  too  far  removed  from  the  ordinary  business  interests 
of  the  people  to  warrant  any  such  function ;  so  under  the 
Roman  Empire  there  were  the  imperial  government,  the  pro-  • 
vinces,  and  the  municipalities,  each  of  which  had  fairly  well- 
defined  offices  to  perform  in  the  general  management  of 
Roman  affairs.  In  France  there  are  the  republic,  the  depart- 
ments, and  the  communes ;  in  England,  the  kingdom,  the 
shires,  and  the  parishes  and  boroughs ;  in  Germany,  the  im- 
perial government,  the  states,  and  the  municipalities,  while 
in  the  United  States  we  have  the  federal  government,  states, 
counties,  towns  or  townships,  and  cities.  So  most  countries 
have  various  forms  of  government,  from  that  which  is  charged 
with  local  administration  to  the  central  government,  which  has 
certain  supervisory  powers  of  legislation  and  the  execution  of 
law  governing  the  whole.  Consequently,  in  the  various  coun- 
tries of  the  world  the  social  functions  are  very  differently  sub- 
divided ;  as,  for  instance,  public  education  is  in  France  a  matter 
for  national  supervision ;  in  Germany  and  the  United  States,  it 
is  reserved  for  the  commonwealths  and  municipalities  ;  in  Eng- 
land, chiefly  for  local  bodies.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this 
work  to  discuss  the  make-up  of  all  the  various  forms  of  gov- 
ernments, but  simply  to  show  how  far  in  the  United  States  the 
settlement  of  social  questions  is  left  to  one  or  the  other  of  the 
divisions  of  the  government ;  and  the  influence  of  each  division 
in  keeping  social  order,  in  developing  the  people,  in  improving 
conditions,  and  in  caring  for  health  and  general  welfare. 

51.     Local  Political  Units  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  United  States,  as  a  general  principle,  the  local  units 
of  government  have  no  independent,  self-constituted,  or  unal- 
terable authority ;  they  are  created  by  State  laws,  are  amenable 


92  Political  Units.  [§51 

to  alterations  by  law,  and  may  be  swept  away  altogether  and 
replaced  by  a  different  kind  of  unit.  Nevertheless,  in  practice 
there  are  three  or  four  units  with  which  the  community  is  so 
familiar  that  they  continue  from  period  to  period,  or  even  from 
century  to  century,  with  little  change,  and  it  is  therefore  to 
these  agencies  that  most  law-making  and  execution  of  law  are 
committed. 

The  principal  units  of  this  kind  are  the  school  district,  town, 
township,  parish,  village  or  borough,  the  city,  and  the  county. 
We  need  not  discuss  at  any  length  some  of  the  smaller  units, 
especially  school  districts,  villages,  and  boroughs.  The  school 
district  is  simply  a  geographical  division  of  a  town  or  township, 
having  a  committee  elected  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  district, 
whose  sole  power  is  in  providing  for  the  school  or  schools 
within  the  district,  expending  in  their  administration  such 
amounts  of  money  as  the  town  or  township  may  authorise. 
These  districts  are  now  losing  their  importance,  but  in  the  past 
they  have  had  a  social  influence  which  cannot  be  ignored,  and 
which  still  exists  wherever  the  school  district  is  found. 

The  village  or  borough  is  but  a  concentration  of  people 
within  a  town  or  township,  usually  having  no  administrative  or 
executive  functions,  and  no  officers  for  its  immediate  govern- 
ment ;  yet  in  some  parts  of  the  United  States  the  village  has  a 
separate  government  in  certain  minor  affairs.  Another  series 
of  political  units  are  the  administrative  districts  known  as  bits, 
supervisors'  districts,  commissioners',  election,  justices',  and 
voting  precincts,  etc.  There  are  also  judicial  townships,  towns, 
hundreds,  militia  districts,  magisterial  and  civil  districts,  police 
jury  wards,  plantations,  grants,  purchases,  and  gores.  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  there  are  municipal  incorporations,  known  as 
cities,  towns,  villages,  and  boroughs,  each  of  which  in  certain 
cases  embrace  one  or  more  minor  civil  divisions  or  parts 
thereof,  while  some  are  independent  of  them  and  others  are 
contained  in  and  are  parts  of  them  for  all  purposes  of  govern- 
ment or  for  sanitary  and  police  regulation.  The  real  govern- 
mental function  which  can  be  described  belongs  to  the  town 
or  township;  or  city. 


§52]  Local;   the  Town.  9^ 

52.     The  Town  or  Township. 

The  word  "  township "  should  not  be  confused  with  the 
division  of  the  public  domain  under  Federal  land  laws,  and 
especially  in  the  newer  States  and  Territories,  where  the  town- 
ship so-called  is  simply  a  territorial  subdivision  made  by  the 
intersection  of  meridians  and  parallels  six  miles  apart  and  con- 
taining 'thirty-six  square  miles ;  such  a  subdivision  is  not  a 
political  unit  in  any  sense,  but  the  town  or  township,  as  incor- 
porated by  the  legislature  of  a  State,  is  a  political  unit,  although 
of  the  lowest  form  which  exercises  sovereignty  in  any  degree. 
It  is  the  general  primary  political  unit  in  our  form  of  govern- 
ment, although  in  Virginia  and  many  other  States  the  county 
exercises  practically  the  same  power,  and  is  the  primary  unit. 
This  distinction  grew  out  of  the  difficulties  attending  the  origi- 
nal settlement  of  different  parts  of  the  United  States ;  as,  for 
instance,  in  Virginia  the  disposition  of  the  settlers  was  to  estab- 
lish plantations  far  apart,  thus  creating  by  the  very  nature  of 
things  a  landed  aristocracy.  There  were  no  clusters  of  dwel- 
lings, hence  the  county,  representing  a  number  of  plantations, 
became  the  natural  political  unit ;  it  had  its  board  of  magis- 
trates, its  militia  and  military  commander,  appointed  by  the 
governor.  The  county  was  not  a  group  of  minor  settlements 
or  towns,  as  in  England  ;  it  was  more  in  the  nature  of  a  parish  ; 
it  had  a  county  seat,  where  the  courts  held  sessions,  and  was 
in  the  early  days  a  powerful  political  factor  in  shaping  the 
events  which  led  to  the  building  of  the  State  itself;  it  also 
had  an  immense  influence  over  the  social  life  of  the  people,  an 
influence  which  is  clearly  observable  at  the  present  day. 

In  New  England  the  town  was  the  unit  originally  established  ; 
it  was  made  up  of  settlers  who  attended  a  common  church,  and 
at  the  beginning  was  hardly  distinguishable  from  the  parish  or 
the  religious  organisation,  since  in  several  colonies  only  church 
members  could  vote.  The  town  was  always  a  part  of  a  colony, 
and  as  soon  as  the  colonial  government  was  thoroughly  organ- 
ised and  had  a  legislature,  the  specific  powers  and  duties  of  the 
town  were  defined  by  law. 


94  Political  Units.  [§52 

The  town  or  the  township  is  probably  the  purest  form  of 
a  democratic  government ;  within  the  limitations  of  law  it 
has  its  own  administrative  or  executive  officers,  determines  its 
own  rate  .and  amount  of  taxation,  makes  its  own  appropria- 
tions, provides  for  the  schools,  highways,  and  the  police,  and 
does  everything  that  the  general  law  of  the  State  allows. 
Such  organisations  preserve  a  very  perfect  autonomy,  so  far 
as  their  powers  extend,  but  these  powers  are  limited  by  their 
own  by-laws  as  well  as  by  State  laws.  Their  business  affairs 
arc  conducted  in  open  town  meetings,  thus  giving  to  every 
citizen  an  opportunity  to  express  his  views  for  or  against  any 
pending  measure.  It  is  in  the  town  meeting  that  the  officers 
are  elected  by  ballot  or  otherwise,  as  the  statutes  and  by-laws 
may  determine.  In  Pennsylvania  and  in  some  of  the  Western 
States  the  township  corresponds  very  closely  to  the  town  of  the 
Eastern  and  other  States.  In  some  States  the  people  of  a 
county  may  adopt  a  town  system  if  they  indicate  such  a  desire 
by  an  election.  Mr.  James  Bryce  says  in  "  The  American 
Commonwealth  "  that  the  town  meeting  has  been  the  most 
perfect  school  of  self-government  in  any  modern  country,  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  remarked  that  "those  wards  called  town- 
ships in  New  England  are  the  vital  principles  of  their  gov- 
ernments, and  have  proved  themselves  the  wisest  invention 
ever  devised  by  the  mind  of  man  for  the  perfect  exercise  of 
self-government  and  for  its  preservation."  It  is  at  once  seen 
that  in  the  purity  of  the  local  government,  whatever  it  is,  lies 
the  welfare  of  the  State  and  hence  of  the  Union.  It  is  to 
the  local  governments  that  the  people  are  closely  allied,  and 
to  which  they  look  for  the  administration  of  laws,  municipal 
or  otherwise,  which  affect  their  social,  intellectual,  and  sani- 
tary conditions.  In  a  purely  sociological  sense,  the  local 
government  is  all-important. 

The  laws  governing  the  primary  units  have  been  most 
liberal,  and  in  some  of  the  States  these  units,  whatever  they 
are  called,  may  establish  free  public  libraries,  expend  money 
in  laying  out  parks,  erect  buildings,  and  erect,  control,  and 


§53]  The  County.  95 

manage  their  own  gas  and  water  works  and  electric  lighting 
plants.  They  have  been  the  most  potent  factors  in  the  estab- 
lishment and  conduct  of  the  public-school  system,  and  by 
their  democratic  methods  have  developed  the  safest  forms 
of  patriotism,  and  stimulated  and  encouraged  a  high  order  of 

public  spirit. 

53.   The   County. 

Much  less  important,  from  a  social  point  of  view,  is  the 
county,  except  in  the  Southern  and  some  Western  States, 
where,  as  already  stated,  it  is  the  usual  form  of  effective  local 
government ;  in  order  of  growth  it  is  a  political  unit  higher 
than  the  town  or  township,  and  although  it  may  include 
cities,  the  importance  of  the  city  makes  the  county  of  sub- 
ordinate influence.  All  the  States  of  the  Union  are  divided 
into  counties  except  Louisiana,  where  a  similar  organisation 
is  denominated  a  parish.  Counties  consist  of  groups  of  cities 
or  towns.  A  small  number  of  cities  are  either  independent 
of  any  county  or  else  embrace  counties  within  their  limits,  as 
is  the  case  with  New  York,  Philadelphia,  San  Francisco,  and 
New  Orleans,  while  the  cities  of  Baltimore  and  St.  Louis  are 
as  independent  of  the  surrounding  or  adjacent  counties  as 
one  county  is  of  another,  each  being  wholly  independent  of 
the  county  of  the  same  name. 

Counties  are  essentially  uniform  in  their  relations  to  the 
State,  but  a  great  diversity  exists  in  their  relations  to  minor 
political  units  embraced  within  them.  There  is  a  county 
town  .or  capita],  sometimes  two,  where  the  courts  hold  their 
sessions,  and  where  the  records  of  transfers  of  property,  of 
mortgages,  and  of  estates  of  deceased  persons  are  kept. 
These  things  are  more  for  the  convenience  of  citizens  than 
for  the  perfection  of  any  system  of  government. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  county  has  little  or  no  in- 
fluence upon  social  development,  having  no  independent 
legislative  functions,  although  it  may  expend  money,  like  a 
town,  or  city,  or  State,  for  public  highways,  an  important 
feature  in  practical  sociology.  Counties  must  be  considered 


96  Political  Units.  [§  53 

units  of  convenience,  without  the  exercise  of  any  degree  of 
sovereignty.  There  are  2,867  different  counties  in  the  United 
States. 

54.   The   City. 

By  far  the  most  important  local  unit  in  the  United  States 
is  the  city.  In  all  ages  among  civilised  men  the  city  has  been 
a  political  agency,  but  in  ancient  and  mediaeval  times  it  had 
a  position  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  great  cities  of 
modern  times.  Athens,  Syracuse,  Carthage,  Rome,  Florence, 
Nuremberg,  Amsterdam,  were  all  city  states,  in  which  the 
municipal  legislature  governed  not  only  the  municipality  but 
the  surrounding  territory,  distant  colonies,  and  vast  depend- 
encies ;  for  instance,  the  Roman  Republic  was  in  theory  and 
practice  the  government  of  the  city  of  Rome,  which  sent  its 
generals  and  proconsuls  to  carry  its  will  all  over  the  world. 
Most  modern  cities,  and  especially  American  cities,  are  sub- 
ject to  the  control  of  the  State,  and  have  no  power  to  make 
or  execute  laws,  except  in  the  limited  fields  assigned  to  them. 
New  York  City  is  as  much  subject  to  the  control  of  the  State 
of  New  York  as  is  the  smallest  village.  On  the  other  hand, 
American  cities  now  contain  nearly  one-third  of  the  population 
of  the  whole  country,  and  probably  much  more  than  one- half 
of  that  part  of  the  population  which  is  gathered  into  centres ; 
they  therefore  have  the  largest  number  of  persons  to  deal 
with,  and  consequently  make  new  problems  for  themselves. 

The  city  in  itself  is  a  large  town,  and  is  difficult  to  define 
by  any  arbitrary  distinctions ;  it  varies  in  size  and  character, 
but  in  general  represents  a  compact  mass  of  population,  which 
receives  special  authority  through  a  charter  from  the  State 
government,  which  designates  it  as  a  city,  town,  village,  or 
borough,  and  which  makes  special  provisions  for  police  and 
sanitary  regulations,  and  grants  certain  defined  powers  to  the 
government  organised  in  accordance  therewith.  These  or- 
ganisations constantly  increase  in  number  and  importance,  as 
will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  (viii.)  on  Urban  and  Rural 
Population. 


§55]  The  City.  97 

When  a  town  becomes  so  populous  that  its  affairs  cannot 
be  conducted  in  mass  meetings  of  its  voters,  it  must  resort  to 
some  form  of  representative  government ;  this  is  secured  by 
a  charter,  as  stated,  and  by  it  its  form  of  government  and  the 
duties  of  the  government  established  are  clearly  defined.  The 
chief  officials  are  elected  by  popular  vote  at  stated  periods ; 
minor  officials  are  usually  appointed  by  the  mayor.  The 
aldermen  and  council  constitute  the  legislative  branch,  and 
in  all  legislative  duties  they  take  the  place  of  the  town  meet- 
ing and  exercise  the  functions  of  any  other  legislative  body 
of  the  primary  political  units. 

In  the  District  of  Columbia  the  county  and  municipal  or- 
ganisations were  abandoned  in  1874,  and  the  cities  of  Wash- 
ington and  Georgetown  and  the  county  of  Washington,  as 
political  units,  ceased  to  exist.  The  district  is  now  governed 
as  a  unit  by  a  board  of  three  commissioners,  appointed  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States ;  but  this  board  has  no 
legislative  powers,  they  being  exercised  by  Congress,  but  under 
the  laws  the  commissioners  have  all  the  powers  of  executive 
officers. 

The  usual  subdivision  of  any  city  is  by  wards,  which  are 
geographical  divisions  for  representative,  executive,  or  magis- 
terial purposes.  Wards  have  no  legislative  functions,  except 
such  as  are  exercised  in  common  by  all  the  wards  in  the  city 
council  or  board  of  aldermen,  through  representation. 

Cities  have  all  the  powers  of  town  governments  as  well  as 
the  special  privileges  and  powers  named  in  their  respective 
charters.  The  density  of  population,  the  wants  and  necessi- 
ties of  the  people,  result  in  a  constant  increase  in  the  problems 
with  which  city  governments  must  deal.  The  discussion  of 
these  problems,  however,  is  left  to  a  separate  chapter  in  the 
proper  place. 

55.    The  State  in  the  Union. 

Under  our  Federal  form  of  government  we  have  in  the  United 
States  an  intermediate  organism  found  elsewhere  especially  in 

7 


98  Political  Units.  [§55 

Germany,  Switzerland,  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Instead  of 
one  authority  superior  on  all  questions  of  government,  we  have 
commonwealths  or  "  states,"  which  exercise  a  very  large  part 
of  all  the  powers  of  government,  and  thus  affect  all  social  ques- 
tions. The  source  of  the  authority  of  the  States  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  general  government,  —  the  will  of  the  people  that 
the  exercise  of  their  sovereign  powers  should  be  divided  be- 
tween two  sorts  of  agencies.  Historically,  however,  the  state 
form  of  government  can  be  traced  all  the  way  from  the  earliest 
colonies.  The  thirteen  original  States  were,  in  fact,  simply 
thirteen  colonies  transformed,  and  they  practically  represented 
the  earlier  geographical  boundaries  of  the  colonies.  Whatever 
sovereignty  they  had  was  derived  through  charters  granted  by 
the  English  government,  having  extensive  and  minute  provi- 
sions. The  colonial  governments  exercised  only  delegated 
powers,  the  legislative  privileges  being  exceedingly  limited,  and 
exercised  by  bodies  called  in  some  colonies  General  Courts,  in 
others  Assemblies,  Houses  of  Delegates,  etc.,  names  which  in 
many  instances  have  been  perpetuated.  With  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  colonies  they  took  on  the  form  of  State  govern- 
ments, with  written  constitutions  enacted  by  the  people  in 
convention,  which  constitutions  in  most  States  took  the  place 
of  royal  charters,  although  the  latter  were  continued  as  late  as 
1818  in  Connecticut  and  1843  in  Rhode  Island. 

The  State  governments  exercise  all  powers  not  delegated  to 
or  reserved  by  the  Federal  government  in  its  constitution ; 
they  are  republican  in  character,  and  represent  the  purest  em- 
bodiment of  democratic  principles  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  people 
of  each  State  elect  their  representatives,  who  are  charged  with 
the  duty  of  enacting  their  laws,  which  in  turn  are  executed  by 
the  State  officials,  the  agents  of  the  people.  Hence  the  indi- 
vidual looks  to  his  State  for  all  those  social  functions  necessary 
in  a  well-conducted  social  organism.  In  the  earlier  days,  with 
scattered  population,  these  functions  were  very  limited,  but 
with  the  increase  of  population  and  of  cities  they  have  been 
greatly  enlarged  ;  they  have  been  growing  in  importance  since 


§56]  States  and  Territories.  99 

1789,  although  the  germs  of  social  legislation  existed  then  in 
the  different  State  constitutions. 

The  State  governments  look  after  public  education ;  they 
authorise  municipalities  to  make  appropriations  for  the  schools, 
libraries,  and  many  other  matters  which  tend  to  the  education, 
both  academic  and  aesthetic,  of  the  whole  body  of  citizens ; 
they  regulate  the  relations  of  capital  and  labour,  in  so  far  as 
law  is  effective ;  they  protect  the  people  in  their  relations  to 
corporations ;  they  make  and  execute  laws  concerning  the 
treatment  of  operatives  and  employees  generally  by  employ- 
ers, including  the  liabilities  of  each,  and  in  all  ways  exercise 
those  general  social  functions  which  are  essential  under  mod- 
ern civilisation  ;  they  have  the  power  of  taxation,  of  local  police 
regulation,  of  raising,  supporting,  and  maintaining  their  militia 
force,  of  maintaining  their  own  courts  and  enforcing  their  own 
laws  and  the  judgments  of  their  courts  ;  they  charter  cities,  in- 
corporate companies,  regulate  insurance,  and,  in  fact,  do  all 
those  things  which  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  people 
may  require,  so  long  as  their  powers,  as  defined  by  their  or- 
ganic laws,  are  not  exceeded  or  are  not  in  contravention  of 
any  of  the  powers  exercised  by  the  Federal  government. 
Nearly  all  of  them,  of  course,  have  a  bill  of  rights  as  a  pre- 
amble to  their  constitutional  law. 

56.    Territories  and  New  States. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  United  States  has  had  no  out- 
lying colonies  and  no  possessions  intended  to  be  permanently 
held  under  a  dependent  form  of  government.  The  Territories, 
however,  of  which  some  or  other  have  existed  ever  since  1789, 
are  really  temporary  colonies.  These  have  been  admitted  to 
the  Union  from  time  to  time,  so  that  the  number  of  States  has 
increased  from  thirteen  at  the  formation  of  the  present  consti- 
tutional government  in  1789  to  forty-five  at  the  present  time. 
Territorial  government  is  mixed  in  its  functions.  There  is  a 
legislature,  but  the  governor  of  each  Territory  is  appointed  by 
the  President,  and  all  the  judicial  officers  are  Federal  appointees. 


ioo  Political  Units.  [§56 

The  legislatures  can  make  laws  for  local  regulation,  but  they 
are  limited  in  their  range.  There  are  still  five  Territories, 
which  will  ultimately  become  States  ;  as  they  become  sufficiently 
important,  both  in  population  and  resources,  they  will  be  grad- 
ually admitted  into  the  Union,  which  ere  long  will  consist  of 
more  than  fifty  sovereign  States.  Alaska  and  the  Indian  Ter- 
ritory have  no  territorial  governments ;  the  former  has  a  gov- 
ernor, appointed  by  the  President,  and  the  general  affairs  of 
the  latter  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs.  Neither  of  them  has  a  legislature.  The  annex- 
ation of  Hawaii,  the  cession  of  Porto  Rico,  and  other  islands, 
enlarge  the  group  of  territorial  dependencies. 

The  thirty-two  States  which  have  already  been  admitted 
since  1789  have  been  obliged  to  adopt  constitutions  under  a 
special  law  of  Congress  admitting  them,  which  kw  has  fre- 
quently specified  certain  conditions  to  be  embodied  in  the 
State  constitutions.  By  this  method  the  Federal  government 
carries  out  the  provision  of  the  constitution  that  it  shall  guar- 
antee to  the  States  a  republican  form  of  government ;  it  also 
insures  to  the  people  of  the  newly  admitted  States  all  those 
privileges  relating  to  their  social  welfare  which  have  been  guar- 
anteed under  the  older  State  constitutions.  It  is  an  admirable 
arrangement,  under  which  mutual  checks  are  applied  for  the 
advantage  of  the  single  State  acting  under  its  sovereignty  and 
its  relation  to  the  Federal  government  as  one  of  the  great 
family  of  States. 

57.    The  National  Government. 

The  Federal  union  thus  constitutes  the  highest  form  of  organ- 
isation of  the  political  units  of  the  nation.  The  agency  of  the 
Federal  union,  the  national  government,  has  supreme  power  in 
certain  directions,  which  are  clearly  defined  by  the  Federal 
Constitution,  and  are  plainly  expressed  in  section  8  of  Article  I. 
They  are,  in  brief,  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and 
excises ;  to  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  wel- 
fare of  the  United  States  ;  to  borrow  money  ;  to  regulate  com- 


§57]  National  Government.  101 

merce  with  foreign  nations,  among  the  several  States,  and  with 
the  Indian  tribes  :  to  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalisation 
and  uniform  laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcy  ;  to  coin  money 
and  to  regulate  the  value  thereof,  etc. ;  to  provide  for  the 
punishment  of  counterfeiting ;  to  establish  post-offices  and  post- 
roads  ;  to  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts 
through  copyright  and  letters  patent ;  to  constitute  tribunals 
or  courts ;  to  declare  war ;  to  raise  and  support  an  army  and 
a  navy,  and  to  do  all  things  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  powers  granted  by  the  organic  law. 

Under  these  granted  powers  the  Federal  government  has 
complete  control  of  immigration,  and  also  of  naturalisation. 
While  States  may  make  some  regulation  as  to  voting  powers, 
a  foreigner  must  naturalise  under  Federal  laws.  Congress  not 
only  can  restrict  immigration,  but  freely  exercises  that  power, 
as  will  be  shown  in  the  chapter  on  that  subject  (§  64).  It 
has  complete  control  of  the  Territories ;  it  makes  regulations 
relating  to  government  works  and  labourers,  and  cares  for  the 
defective  and  dependent  classes  in  territory  exclusively  under 
Federal  jurisdiction  ;  it  protects  the  liberty  and  property  of 
citizens,  even  against  itself,  —  in  fact,  it  assumes  to  be  the 
•guardian  of  the  political  rights  of  all  citizens.  Hence  the 
national  government  in  its  relations  to  the  people  is  one  of 
social  as  well  as  of  police  power.  As  shown  in  the  proper 
chapters  (i.  xi.),  it  has  done  much  to  stimulate  education 
by  contributions  to  State  institutions,  and  as  a  gatherer  and 
publisher  of  sociological  data  it  stands  pre-eminent.  The 
national  government  is  not  paternal  in  the  commonly  accepted 
understanding  of  that  word,  yet  its  care  of  the  general  welfare 
makes  its  stability  and  efficiency  the  subject  of  keenest  anxiety 
of  all. 

With  the  creation  of  the  Union  the  grand  ascending  scale 
of  political  units  in  the  United  States  was  closed,  and  the  con- 
tinuity and  harmony  of  all  acting  on  one  general  principle 
perfected.  The  system  of  political  units,  with  ever-increasing 
power  and  sovereignty,  has  stood  the  test  of  more  than  a  cen- 


IO2  Political  Units.  [§57 

tury  ;  it  has  been  conducive  to  the  development  of  the  country, 
and  proved  the  efficiency  of  its  administrative  methods  and 
the  purity  and  wisdom  of  its  judiciary ;  it  has  passed  through 
many  severe  trials,  and  its  strength  of  purpose  and  power  of 
self-preservation  demonstrated.  It  is  now  again  in  a  new  era, 
under  which  the  questions  of  expansion  will  test  its  power  and 
its  ability  to  adjust  questions  on  a  scale  not  contemplated  by 
its  founders  ;  but  as  it  is  based  on  the  recognition  of  the  rights 
of  each  individual  by  every  other,  and  of  the  rights  of  each 
State  by  every  other  State,  there  need  be  no  alarming  anxiety 
as  to  its  course. 

58.    Political  Parties. 

A  parallel  to  the  ascending  scale  of  social  and  political  units, 
as  already  developed,  is  found  in  the  organisation  of  political 
parties,  which  are  absolutely  essential  under  a  republican  form 
of  government,  or,  in  fact,  under  any  government  which  has  a 
constitution,  written  or  unwritten,  behind  it.  The  constitution 
of  parties  and  the  methods  by  which  their  intentions  are  car- 
ried out  are  so  complicated  that  few  really  understand  them, 
but  the  system  is  based  on  the  principles  of  our  political  units 
from  the  town  to  the  Union.  Taking  the  national  organisation 
for  an  illustration,  representation  goes  down  to  the  smallest 
town  and  to  the  wards  of  cities,  where  the  primary  caucus  is 
the  fountain  of  all  political  purity  or  corruption.  The  primaries 
elect  delegates  to  nominating  conventions  in  districts,  counties, 
and  States  ;  conventions  of  congressional  districts  and  State 
conventions  elect  delegates  to  the  national  convention,  and  the 
national  convention  nominates  candidates  for  the  presidency 
and  vice-presidency.  In  addition  to  this  there  is  a  perfect  net- 
work of  party  organisation  for  local  purposes.  It  is  through 
these  channels  that  people  express  their  sovereignty  by  direct 
action,  thus  securing  a  democratic  form  of  government  with  a 
republican  method  of  administration.  The  action  of  parties 
in  the  various  details  belonging  to  them  is  very  largely  the 
result  of  public  opinion. 


§59]  Public  Opinion.  103 


59.    Public  Opinion. 

The  actual  workings  of  government,  especially  in  social 
questions  and  in  party  organisation,  depend  upon  the  public 
pressure  for  alterations  of  laws,  the  public  interest  in  their  being 
carried  out,  and  the  general  standard  of  morality.  Ideas  upon 
these  primary  elements  of  law  and  of  government  are  the  results 
of  the  intelligent  or  unintelligent  appreciation  of  fundamental 
principles  and  the  agitation  of  prevailing  questions  in  the  press 
and  on  the  platform. 

The  application  of  public  opinion  to  special  questions  is 
cultivated  by  public  meetings,  and  especially  by  newspaper 
agitation,  and  is  directed  to  influence  legislators,  to  strengthen 
the  executive  officers,  to  act  on  parties,  and  in  various  ways  to 
bring  the  merits  or  demerits  of  a  public  question  to  public 
view.  One  of  the  most  emphatic  instances  of  this  formation 
of  public  opinion  was  shown  in  the  slavery  controversy,  when 
the  abolitionists  resorted  to  every  possible  means  of  interesting 
and  enlightening  the  public  mind  on  the  question  of  freeing 
the  slaves  in  the  South ;  pamphlets,  lectures,  newspapers,  novels, 
every  means  by  which  the  public  mind  could  be  influenced, 
were  brought  to  bear  on  the  question. 

When  it  is  considered  that  it  is  only  the  people  who  can 
change  the  organic  law,  and  who  are  the  prime  movers  in 
every  alteration  of  statute  law,  and  can  make  the  execution  of 
any  statute  easy  or  difficult,  the  power  of  public  opinion  as 
the  exemplification  of  original  sovereignty  is  understood ;  and 
when  it  is  remembered,  further,  that  the  means  of  defence,  of 
development,  of  progress,  of  every  expansion  of  governmental 
function,  affect  the  real  social  interests  of  the  people  at  large, 
we  see  the  close  connection  and  sympathy  between  the  voters 
and  their  authorised  agents. 

It  is  now  an  accepted  doctrine  that  the  State  may  do  many 
things  through  its  agents  not  connected  with  police  powers 
only,  and  that  the  government  has  important  functions  other 
than  those  exercised  by  the  courts  and  the  military  establish- 


104  Political  Units.  [§59 

ment ;  and  when  the  individual  units  of  a  nation  have  become 
so  enlightened  as  not  to  require  police  powers,  or  when  its 
members  do  not  need  repression,  punishment,  or  care  to  any 
great  degree,  governments  will  still  have  many  broader  powers 
to  exercise,  which  relate  to  the  general  welfare  and  which  are 
outside  of  war  and  police  powers.  Herein  lies  more  difficulty 
than  that  which  attends  the  administration  of  government 
simply  for  the  preservation  of  order.  Then  the  transaction  of 
peaceful  business,  attention  to  the  means  of  transportation, 
education,  and  all  those  things  which  relate  to  the  feelings, 
sentiments,  and  tendencies  of  the  people,  will  be  of  greater 
importance  than  the  ordinary  performance  of  ministerial  acts. 
Under  this  broader  view,  which  is  entertained  at  the  present 
time,  the  individual  is  social  as  well  as  political,  and  his  feelings 
and  will  must  be  brought  into  co-ordination  with  the  feelings 
and  wills  of  others.  Thus  the  government  must  of  necessity 
regulate,  if  not  control,  the  individual  as  a  social  unit.  Healthy 
public  opinion,  therefore,  as  stimulated  by  those  who  have  the 
best  interests  of  all  citizens  at  heart,  is  a  most  powerful  regu- 
lator, even  if  at  times  a  disturber,  of  the  functions  of  government. 


Part  III. 

Questions  of  Population. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
IMMIGRATION. 

60.   References. 

Richmond  Mayo-Smith,  Emigration  and  Immigration,  and  Statistics 
and  Sociology;  Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population,  Part  I.;  United 
States  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration,  Reports,  especially  in 
House  Executive  Documents,  52  Congress,  i  session,  I.,  II.,  No.  235  (1892) ; 
Josiah  Strong,  Our  Country ;  North  American  Review,  LXXXII.  248; 

cxxxiv.  347;  cxxxvin.  78;  CXLVII.  165;  CLII.  27;  u.  s. 

Commissioner  of  Labour,  Seventh  Special  Report,  1894  (Slums  of  Balti- 
more, Chicago,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia),  and  Ninth.  Special  Report, 
1897  (The  Italians  in  Chicago);  Francis  A.  Walker,  Immigration  and 
Degradation,  in  Forum,  XL  634  (Aug.,  1891),  and  Restriction  of  Immigra- 
tion, in  Atlantic  Monthly  LXXVII.  822  (June,  1896)  ;  Immigration  Re- 
striction League,  various  publications ;  Debates  in  Congress  on  the  bills 
for  restricting  immigration,  from  54  to  57  Congresses,  in  Congressional 
Record  (see  Index  volume  at  end  of  each  session);  Bibliography,  in 
Brookings&  Ring  wait,  Briefs  for  Debate,  xxvi.,  xxvii.,  and  xxviii. ;  Frank- 
lin H.  Giddings,  Principles  of  Sociology,  Book  II.  ch.  i.,  Book  IV.  ch.  i. 

61.    Religious  and  Political  Distribution  of  Immigrants 

Thus  far  we  have  been  dealing  with  what  may  be  called, 
through  analogy,  the  anatomy  of  society,  and  it  is  logical  that 
its  physiology  should  next  receive  attention, — that  is,  the 
functions  and  activities  of  society,  the  questions  which  interest 
it  in  relation  to  its  betterment  and  further  development.  Per- 
haps the  first  subject  which  should  attract  attention  relates  to 


106  Immigration.  [§  61 

those  influences  which  may  tend  to  disturb  the  constituent 
elements  of  society. 

Above  will  be  found  (§§  24,  25)  the  facts  as  to  immigration, 
in  connection  with  the  facts  relating  to  races  and  nativity.  The 
total  immigration  from  1821  to  1900  is  shown  to  have  been 
19,250,665  persons.  The  influence  of  this  vast  addition  to 
our  population  has  many  ramifications.  When  immigration 
first  began,  or,  at  least,  when  it  first  grew  to  be  very  large,  the 
immigrants  found  easy  assimilation  with  the  natives  in  various 
industries.  In  the  constructive  period  of  our  railroads,  in  the 
erection  of  public  works,  the  building  of  sewers,  docks,  etc., 
foreign  labour  found  a  ready  demand  ;  but  as  time  went  on  and 
our  industries  became  more  developed,  the  irritating  influence 
of  immigration,  so  far  as  our  industries  were  concerned,  began 
to  be  felt.  The  United  States  had  been  designated  as  the 
land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  oppressed,  and  the 
notion  that  America  was  an  asylum  for  all  who  sought  to 
come  to  our  shores  was  advertised  the  world  over.  So  when 
immigration  became  too  large  in  volume,  it  was  very  natural 
that  some  means  should  be  sought  by  which  it  could  be  re- 
stricted. Whether  there  should  be  any  material  restriction, 
and  if  so,  of  what  character,  is  the  real  problem  of  immigration 
to-day,  and  the  problem  must  be  settled  along  industrial  lines, 
if  at  all. 

A  study  of  the  nationalities  represented  in  the  immigration 
to  this  country  shows  that  the  religious  and  party  effects  have 
been  fairly  equally  divided  ;  for  more  than  half  of  the  whole 
number  have  come  from  Protestant  countries,  and  the  two 
great  political  parties  in  the  United  States  have  absorbed 
about  equal  proportions  of  the  total  volume  of  immigration. 
Of  course,  in  some  sections  one  religious  faith  or  one  party 
preference  is  stronger  than  another. 

62.   Industrial  Distribution  of  Immigrants. 

When  we  look  at  industrial  conditions,  however,  a  different 
state  of  affairs  is  disclosed  ;  for  the  absorption  of  immigrants 


§62] 


Industrial  Distribution. 


107 


into  our  industries 
has  not  been  equal. 
Studying  this  ques- 
tion for  two  periods, 
1870  and  1890,  the 
statistics  *  show  that 
of  the  9,249, 547  per- 
sons born  abroad, 
constituting  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  whole 
body  of  immigrants 
up  to  1890,  more 
than  one  half 
(5,217,868)  were 
absorbed  in  the  dif- 
ferent gainful  occu- 
pations of  the  peo- 
ple, and  this  number 
is  more  than  one- 
fifth  of  the  twenty- 
two  and  three-quar- 
ter millions  so  em- 
ployed. In  agricul- 
ture the  foreign  born 
have  increased  from 
about  one-tenth  of 
the  whole  number 
engaged  in  that  in-, 
dustry  in  1870  to 
about  one-eighth  in 
1890  ;  but  almost 
one-third  of  all  the 
persons  engaged  in 
manufactures  both  in 
1870  and  1890,  and 
over  one-half  of  the 


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io8  Immigration.  [§62 

miners  in  1890,  were  of  foreign  birth;  of  the  latter  nearly 
two-thirds  were  foreigners  in  1870.  We  expect  to  find  high 
percentages  in  domestic  and  personal  service,  but  it  is  sur- 
prising to  find  that  foreigners  made  up  more  than  a  quarter 
of  all  those  engaged  in  trade  and  transportation  in  1870  and 
more  than  a  fifth  in  1890. 

The  table  deserves  special  study,  because  of  the  light  which 
it  throws  on  the  serious  problem  of  restricting  immigration. 
The  term  "  gainful  occupations  "  includes  all  persons  actually 
busied,  whether  wage  labourers,  salaried  persons,  or  proprietors, 
and  whether  men,  women,  or  children ;  and  the  relative  pro- 
portions of  natives  and  foreigners  suggest  the  possibility  that 
immigrants  come  to  this  country  too  rapidly  for  healthy 
assimilation  in  our  great  industries. 

63.   Immigration  and  Illiteracy. 

An  argument  has  also  been  made  on  the  basis  of  the  illiter- 
acy of  the  foreign  element.  According  to  the  census  of  1900, 
all  the  illiterates  (meaning  those  persons  10  years  of  age  and 
over  who  could  neither  read  nor  write  in  any  language)  num- 
bered 6,246,857,  which  was  10.7  per  cent  of  the  total  popu- 
lation of  that  age  ;  of  these,  native  whites  furnished  1,916,434, 
or  about  4.6  per  cent  of  their  total  contingent ;  and  the  for- 
eign whites  furnished  1,293,171,  which  was  12.9  per  cent  of 
their  contingent.  The  general  average  was  brought  about 
by  the  great  number  of  negro  illiterates ;  of  these  there  were 
2,853,720,  or  less  than  one-half  of  the  whole  number  were  per- 
sons of  negro  descent ;  the  great  concentration  of  illiteracy, 
therefore,  is  in  the  negro  population.  That  immigrants  do  not 
permanently  increase  illiteracy  is  shown  by  distinguishing  the 
foreign-born  from  natives  of  foreign  parentage ; .  the  whole 
number  of  natives  of  foreign  parentage  10  years  of  age  and 
over  in  1900  was  10,958,703,  and  of  these  only  179,384,  or 
1.64  per  cent,  were  classed  as  illiterates. 

The  total  number  of  persons  10  years  of  age  and  over  in 
the  United  States  in  1900  who  could  not  speak  English  was 


§  63]  Illiteracy.  109 

1,471,332;  of  these  1,221,181  were  foreign  white  persons; 
65,405  were  native  whites  of  foreign  parentage,  and.  184, 746 
were  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  Indian.  The  number  of  native 
whites  of  native  parentage  not  speaking  English  was  so  insig- 
nificant as  not  to  be  the  subject  of  calculation.  The  principal 
aggregations  of  non-English  speaking  persons  are  among  the 
French  Canadians  in  the  New  England  and  border  States  ;  the 
so-called  "  Pennsylvania  Dutch  ;  "  the  French  of  Louisiana ; 
the  Mexicans  of  the  Southwest,  mainly  in  New  Mexico,  Texas, 
Arizona,  and  Colorado,  who,  through  their  peculiar  environ- 
ment, have  not  learned  to  speak  English,  even  though  of  native- 
born  parentage.  There  are  also  many  communities  of  Germans, 
Swiss,  Scandinavians,  Hollanders,  and  French  in  the  Northwest, 
and  large  quarters  of  Italians,  Poles,  Bohemians,  and  Russians 
in  the  large  cities,  where  little  or  no  English  is  spoken. 

Nevertheless,  experience  shows  that  all  foreigners  coming 
to  America  and  desiring  to  join  our  industrial  army,  or  to 
become  identified  with  our  population,  must  sooner  or  later, 
in  order  to  succeed,  learn  the  English  language.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  exemplifications  of  this  truth  is  to  be  found  in 
the  experience  of  the  Canadian-French.  At  the  conquest  in 
1760  Lower  Canada  had,  according  to  the  best  authorities, 
72,000  French-Canadians,  the  descendants  of  less  than  10,000 
immigrants  from  France.  The  increase  had  already  been  mar- 
vellous, but  these  people,  according  to  the  census  of  1891,  had 
increased  to  above  1,400,000,  though  they  had  received  no 
immigration  and  lived  in  the  midst  of  an  English-speaking 
people,  and  they  preserved  their  distinctive  French  character- 
istics in  every  respect,  especially  in  religion  and  language. 
Yet  the  French-Canadian  immigrants,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  hopes  of  their  leaders  when  coming  to  the  United 
States,  are  rapidly  assuming  the  character  of  American  citi- 
zens. What  is  true  of  them,  with  their  distinctive  national 
characteristics  and  with  all  the  obstacles  growing  from  their 
past,  is  true,  or  will  soon  be  true,  of  all  nationalities.  The 
second  or  third  generation  produces  a  live  American,  imbued 


iio  Immigration.  [§63 

with  all  the  principles,  instincts,  and  ambitions  of  the  Ameri- 
can citizen,  speaking  the  national  tongue  and  partaking  of  the 
national  education.  The  question  of  the  illiteracy  of  immi- 
grants, therefore,  need  not  agitate  the  public  mind. 

64.   Restrictive  Laws   on  Immigration. 

Notwithstanding  the  plain  teaching  of  these  facts,  the 
volume  of  immigration  has  grown  so  large  as  to  alarm  many 
good  people,  who  think  it  an  irritant  to  the  body  politic,  and 
the  demands  for  its  restriction  and  regulation  have  become 
so  serious  during  the  past  few  years  that  Congress  has  con- 
stantly attempted  to  accomplish  something  that  would  retard 
the  flow.  The  first  attempt  in  this  direction  was  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  Chinese,  and  in  this  direction  law  has  been  very 
efficacious.  The  total  number  of  Chinese  in  the  country,  ex- 
clusive of  Alaska  and  Hawaii,  in  1870,  was  63,199,  in  1880, 
105,465,  in  1890,  107,488,  and  in  1900,  89,863. 

The  next  method  of  restriction  was  in  the  shape  of  laws 
regulating  the  importation  of  labourers  under  contract.  It  was 
formerly  the  custom  of  employers  of  labour  to  make  contracts 
with  prospective  immigrants  before  leaving  their  homes ;  then, 
when  they  arrived  in  this  country,  to  put  them  at  work  in 
accordance  with  the  contract.  This  practice  became  offensive, 
and  was  prohibited  by  Federal  law  in  1885.  Some  of  the 
States  have  regulated  the  employment,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, of  imported  labourers  on  government  works,  through 
the  agency  of  contractors.  In  New  York  such  laws  have 
been  declared  unconstitutional. 

These  two  measures  have  accomplished  practically  nothing 
in  retarding  immigration.  Occasionally  immigrants,  having 
been  brought  over  by  contractors  in  violation  of  Federal  laws, 
are  sent  back ;  and  immigrants  who  are  paupers  or  criminals 
must  be  returned  at  the  expense  of  the  steamship  company 
bringing  them  over,  and  there  have  been  a  few  returned  under 
these  laws,  but  the  efforts  at  restriction  have  affected  few  per- 
sons, though  they  may  have  prevented  some  from  starting. 


§  64]  Restrictive  Laws.  1 1 1 

Various  additional  laws  have  been  proposed  :  one  is  to  es- 
tablish measures  of  regulation  in  foreign  countries  by  a  system 
of  examination  of  intended  emigrants,  through  the  con- 
sular officers  of  the  government.  This  plan  failed  to  find 
favour,  on  account  of  its  practical  complications.  Another  plan 
is  to  exclude  all  illiterate  immigrants,  both  through  the  efforts 
of  consular  agents  abroad  and  of  the  custom-house  officials 
at  home.  This  measure  in  1897  came  near  passing  Congress, 
but  has  not  yet  been  adopted.  Another  plan  which  has  been 
advocated  by  many  very  conservative  writers,  among  them  the 
late  General  Francis  A.  Walker,  is  the  imposition  of  -a  heavy 
head  tax  of,  perhaps,  $50,  to  be  levied  upon  every  immigrant 
landing  at  any  of  the  ports  of  the  United  States.  This  would 
certainly  result  in  reducing  immigration,  but  it  would  not 
necessarily  affect  criminals  and  other  undesirable  classes  from 
coming  to  our  shores ;  the  tax  plan  has  never  aroused  any 
general  demand  for  its  adoption. 

In  many  quarters  it  is  felt  that  transportation  lines  are  to 
a  large  degree  responsible  for  an  unhealthy  volume  of  immi- 
gration, for  in  order  to  increase  their  traffic,  their  agents 
throughout  Europe  seek  passengers  and  offer  every  induce- 
ment to  immigrants ;  the  rates  are  sometimes  so  low  that,  for 
example,  an  Italian  immigrant  can  go  from  Italy  to  Chicago 
for  little  more  than  it  would  cost  a  first-class  passenger  to 
travel  from  New  York  to  Chicago.  In  some  cases  associated 
efforts  in  foreign  countries  have  resulted  in  sending  to  us  an 
undesirable  class  of  persons,  who  find  it  very  difficult  to  be- 
come assimilated  in  our  industrial  forces  or  to  accommodate 
themselves  to  our  laws  and  institutions. 

Could  law  reach  some  of  these  features  attending  immigra- 
tion the  volume  could  be  reduced  ;  but  a  great  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  restriction  lies  in  the  widely  accepted  doctrine  of  a 
universal  brotherhood,  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  aid 
the  nations  of  the  earth  to  reach  more  equal  economic  and 
moral  conditions.  Certain  it  is  that  immigration  has  been 
a  powerful  element  in  the  development  of  our  resources  and 


1 1 2  Immigration.  [§64 

in  the  material  upbuilding  of  the  nation,  and  that  among  the 
immigrants  of  the  last  eighty  years  and  their  descendants  have 
been  many  of  the  best  American  citizens. 

65.   Relation   of  Immigration   to  Increase   of  Population. 

One  of  the  principal  arguments  for  immigration  is  the  result- 
ing growth  of  the  population  of  the  United  States,  —  the  addi- 
tion of  19,000,000  or  more  and  their  progeny.  On  this  point 
able  writers,  especially  General  Walker,  have  taken  issue.  It 
is  very  difficult  to  prove  that  immigration  is  a  retarding  in- 
fluence upon  the  natural  increase  of  population,  and  yet  there 
are  elements  which  tend  to  sustain  the  thesis.  Countries  that 
have  lost  large  numbers  —  millions  even  —  through  emigra- 
tion to  America  have  not  suffered  in  their  birth  rate,  while 
America,  to  which  these  millions  have  been  sent,  has  ex- 
perienced a  decrease  in  the  size  of  the  family,  as  shown  in  the 
discussion  of  the  family  above  (§  36). 

The  United  States  is  unfortunate  in  not  having  a  general 
registration  system  for  births,  from  which  conclusive  results 
could  be  drawn  ;  but  we  have  the  statistics  of  births,  marriages, 
and  deaths  for  a  long  term  of  years  for  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts.  In  that  State  the  birth  rate  has  decreased 
since  1850-55  from  29  to  each  one  thousand  persons,  to  26.16 
in  1900;  there  was  some  variation  during  the  intervening 
years,  —  as,  for  instance,  for  the  five  years  ending  with  1880 
it  was  a  little  less  than  25  for  each  one  thousand.  There  has 
also  been  a  gradual  decrease  in  the  number  of  persons  mar- 
ried to  each  one  thousand  during  the  same  period,  the  decrease 
being  from  21.77  to  T7-35-  There  was  very  slight  decrease 
in  the  death-rate  during  all  that  time,  the  variation  being  from 
18.37  to  18.23  Per  thousand.  For  the  natural  movement  of 
population  we  look  to  the  excess  of  births  over  deaths,  but  in 
Massachusetts,  for  the  period  named,  the  excess  in  every  one 
thousand  persons  dropped  from  io§  to  7.92. 

Massachusetts  was  among  the  first  States  to  feel  the  steady 
influence  of  immigration.  If  the  addition  of  immigrants  has 


§  65]  Increase  of  Population.  1 1  3 

tended  to  an  increase  of  population,  it  is  not  shown  in  the 
statements  quoted ;  that  is,  immigration  has  not  increased  the 
birth  rate  or  the  marriage  rate,  or  insured  a  decrease  in  the 
death  rate.  It  may  have  offset  the  decreases  noted,  but  cer- 
tainly it  has  not  overcome  them.  In  parts  of  the  country 
where  the  population  is  more  thoroughly  native  there  has 
been  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  excess  of  births  over 
deaths,  yet  there  are  so  many  influences  which  enter  into  the 
question  of  birth,  marriage,  and  death  rates  that  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  determine  what  the  influence  of  immigration  has 
been  upon  them.  It  is  not  safe  to  argue  that,  because  two 
things  happen  contemporaneously,  one  is  the  cause  and  the 
other  effect ;  so  when  we  consider  that  of  the  total  number  of 
immigrants  coming  to  this  country  more  than  half  were  living 
in  1900,  it  is  difficult  to  bring  the  mind  to  the  cdnclusion  that 
they  have  had  no  perceptible  influence  on  the  increase  of  our 
population. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  death  rate  among 
immigrants  must  be  higher  than  among  natives.  The  hard- 
ships of  their  voyage  in  many  cases  superinduce  disease,  cer- 
tainly exhaustion,  from  which  many,  partially  the  infirm  when 
they  embark,  do  not  recover.  Brought  over  for  the  very  small 
fares  which  are  charged,  the  immigrant,  as  a  rule,  must  be  fed 
in  a  very  poor  way,  not  only  as  to  quantity  but  as  to  quality,  and 
be  stowed  in  very  close  quarters  between  decks,  and  thus  sub- 
jected to  exposure  of  many  kinds  and  to  loss  of  vitality. 
Furthermore,  when  he  reaches  this  country  he  is  obliged  to 
undergo  a  change  of  diet,  which  often  reduces  him  ;  to  offset 
this,  many  immigrants  insist  upon  procuring  the  food  of  .their 
native  countries.  They  are  thus  subjected  to  increased  ex- 
pense in  living,  or  else  obliged  to  deprive  themselves  of  those 
things  to  which  they  are  used.  Poor  in  pocket,  his  vitality 
reduced,  the  immigrant  becomes  the  prey  not  only  to  disease, 
through  hunger  and  deprivation,  but  to  the  necessity  of  engag- 
ing in  severe  physical  labour  under  new  conditions.  These 
influences  are  against  a  low  death  rate. 

8 


114  Immigration.  [§65 

Internal  migrations  have  had  a  retarding  influence  upon  the 
birth  rate,  especially  where  such  migrations  have  occurred 
from  the  older  States  to  border  States,  through  the  attraction 
of  pioneer  developments.  This  movement  has  divided  fami- 
lies temporarily,  and  thus  checked  the  birth  rate  to  some 
extent.  As  the  newer  portions  become  more  generally  settled 
and  their  conditions  approach  those  of  the  older  States,  this 
influence  in  some  degree  will  be  overcome. 

The  whole  question  is  one  open  for  full  discussion  and  for 
the  construction  of  theories.  With  a  few  facts  like  those 
already  cited,  and  others  relating  to  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion in  parts  of  the  country  where  the  influence  of  immigration 
has  been  felt  very  slightly,  if  at  all,  the  idea  that  immigration 
has  not  tended  to  increase  the  population  of  the  United 
States  finds  partial  support.  The  conclusion  is  safe,  probably, 
that  the  increase  in  our  population  is  due  very  largely  to 
natural  causes  and  in  small  degree  to  external  influences  com- 
ing through  immigration. 


TOTAL  AND    URBAN    POPULATION   BY  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES:     1900. 
THE  BLACK  PORTION    IS  URBAN, 

MILLIONS 
01                      23456                      78 

T 

• 

i 

1           ET 

1  ""     ^  j 

^  n 

1  ^ 

••_      -j-j-- 

NEW  JERSEY  •••••I  ICIIIIII] 

'i     yr 

^^r 

MARYLAND                 WfJ^M  ] 

WEST  VIRGINIA....  1!  |  |      "T'l 

CONNECTICUT  •••[hi: 

MAINE                     m\  1  | 

RHODE  ISLAND.....  ••C 
OREGON                       |F;1 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE    m^~ 

S.  DAKOTA                  I—  (i 

OKLAHOMA  rj-H- 
INDIAN  TER.  '  ! 

VERMONT               rrpi 

N.  DAKOTA                   itl 

DIS.  OF  COLUMBIA  r7~l 
UTAH                                V4l 

MONTANA                   rp^l 

NEW   MEXICO.  ;p 
DELAWARE  p 
IDAHO  i) 

HAWAII    .         .          o 

ARIZONA  -i 

WYOMING  .                 [ 

ALASKA        .      .         1 

NEVADA                       1 

(Reproduced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.  S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.) 

CHAPTER   VIII. 


URBAN   AND   RURAL   POPULATION. 

66.    References. 

United  States,  Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population,  Part  I. ;  H.  J. 
Fletcher,  Drift  of  Population  to  Cities,  in  Forum,  XIX.  737  (Aug.,  1895); 
Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  Practical  Essays,  No.  viii.  ;  E.  Cannan,  Decline  of 
Urban  Immigration,  in  Natio nal Review,  XXII.  624  (Jan.,  1894) ;  C.  Boyd, 
Growth  of  Cities  in  the  United  States,  in  American  Statistical  Association, 
Publications,  III.  416;  Movement  toward  Cities,  in  Public  Opinion,  XV. 
501  (Sept.  2,  1893);  M.  B.  Hammond,  Distribution  of  Population  of  Cities, 
in  American  Statistical  Association,  Publications,  IV.  113;  R.  S.  Tracy, 
Growth  of  Great  Cities,  in  Century,  XXXIII.  79  (Nov.,  1897) ;  E.  E.  Hale, 
Congestion  of  Cities,  in  Forum,  IV.  527  (Jan.,  1888)  ;  Congestion  of  Popu- 
lation in  Cities,  in  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor, 
Publications,  No.  3  (1896);  A.  Gaye,  Crowding  of  Cities,  the  Flight  from 
the  Fields  ;  F.  W.  Farrar,  Some  Problems  of  the  Age,  in  North  American 
Keview,  CLXI.  412  (Oct.,  1895);  J.  B.  Walker,  Factors  of  Growth  in 
Modern  Cities,  in  Cosmopolitan,  IX.  62  (May,  1890)  ;  Lewis  M.  Haupt, 
Growth  of  Great  Cities,  in  Cosmopolitan,  XIV.  83  (Nov.,  1892)  ;  Robert  C. 
Brooks,  A  Bibliography  of  Municipal  Administration  and  City  Conditions, 
in  Municipal  Affairs,  I.  No.  I  (March,  1897);  E.  J.  James,  The  Growf/i 
of  Great  Cities,  Annals  of  Am.  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science 
(XIII.  No.  i,  January,  1899)  ;  Adna  F.  Weber,  The  Growth  of  Cities,  in 
Nineteenth  Century. 

67.     Statistics  of  Urban  and  Rural  Population. 

In  the  census  of  v88o,  urban  population  J  was  defined  as  that 
element  living  in  cities  or  other  closely  aggregated  bodies  of 

1  URBAN  POPULATION  AND  PER  CENT  OF  URRAN  POPULATION,  OF 
TOTAL  POPULATION,  AND  OK  NUMBER  OF  CITIES  AT  EACH 
CENSUS,  1790  TO  1900,  OF  8,000  OR  MORE  INHABITANTS. 


Census  Years. 

Population  of  the 
United  States 
proper. 

Urban  Popu- 
lation. 

Per  cent  of  Urban 
Population  of  the 
Total  Population. 

Number 
of  Cities. 

1700 

3,929,214 

131.472 

3-35 

6 

1X00 

5,308,483 

2  ,0,87.1 

.3-97 

6 

1810 

7,  239,88  • 

356.920 

4-93 

1  1 

1820 

9,633,«22 

475,  '35 

4-93 

13 

iS^o 

12,866,020 

864,509 

6.72 

26 

1840 

i7-n(S9,453 

',453,994 

8.52 

44 

1X50 

23,191,876 

2,897,586 

12.49 

85 

1860 

3i-443,32i 

5,072,256 

•  6.13 

141 

1870 

3S,55K,37' 

8,071,875 

20.93 

226 

1880 

50,155,783 

",3i8,547 

22.57 

286 

:Sgo 

62,622,250 

18,272,503 

29.20 

447 

1900 

75,477,467 

24,992,199 

33-1° 

545 

1 1 6         Urban  and  Rural  Population.          [§  67 

population  containing  eight  thousand  inhabitants  or  more. 
The  Superintendent  of  the  Eleventh  Census  remarks  that  "  this 
definition  of  the  urban  element,  although  a  somewhat  arbitrary 
one,  is  used  in  the  present  discussions  of  the  results  of  the 
Eleventh  Census  in  order  that  they  may  be  compared  directly 
with  those  of  earlier  censuses."  He  considers  the  limit  of 
eight  thousand  inhabitants  unduly  high,  inasmuch  as  most  of 
the  distinctive  features  of  urban  life  are  found  in  many  smaller 
bodies  of  population. 

The  proportion  of  urban  population  has  gradually  increased 
from  a  thirty-third  in  1790  to  nearly  a  third  in  1900;  the 
number  of  "cities"  from  6  to  545.  The  most  populous  city 
in  1790  was  Philadelphia,  with  28,522  people,  and  in  1900 
New  York,  Chicago,  and  Philadelphia  had  populations  of 
3,437,202,  1,689,575  and  1,293,697  respectively.  The  cities 
in  1870  which  contained  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  num- 
bered 14  ;  in  1900  they  had  increased  to  38. 

The  North  Atlantic  Division  of  States,  with  a  population  of 
21,046,695,  contains  an  urban  population  of  12,324,709,  or 
nearly  one-half  the  entire  urban  population  of  the  country. 
The  population  of  the  South  Atlantic  Division  is  10,443,480, 
and  the  urban  population  is  1,777,626,  or  less  than  8  per  cent 
of  the  entire  urban  population  of  the  United  States.  The 
North  Central  Division,  the  largest  group  in  the  country,  has  a 
total  population  of  26,333,004,  and  it  has  a  large  urban  popula- 
tion (8,055,506),  which  is  practically  one-third  the  entire  urban 
population.  The  South  Central  Division  contains  14,080,047 
inhabitants,  but  its  urban  population  is  small,  it  being  1,557,331, 
or  about  one-sixteenth  of  the  urban  population  of  the  country. 
The  Western  Division,  being  the  smallest  group  and  having 
4,091,349  inhabitants,  has  an  urban  population  of  1,277,027, 
or  about  one-twentieth  of  the  entire  urban  population. 

While  the  North  Atlantic  Division  contains  nearly  one-half  the 
urban  population  of  the  entire  country,  more  than  four-sevenths 
of  its  own  population  is  contained  in  cities  of  eight  thousand 
or  more  inhabitants,  and  during  the  decade  from  1890  to  1900 


TOTAL  POPULATION  OFCITIESOF  MORE 
THAN  100000  IN  HABITANTS,:  1900. 


(Reproduced  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.) 


THE  CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  CITIES  OF 
MORE  THAN  100,000  INHABITANTS  :1900 


ST.  JOSEPH 

COLUMBUS 

INDIANAPOLIS--. 
KANSAS  CITY..... 
LOS  ANGELES. --- 

DENVER 

WASHINGTON 

BALTIMORE 

LOUISVILLE 

OMAHA 

PHILADELPHIA- 
SYRACUSE 

TOLEDO 

ALLE3HENY 

NEW  ORLEANS.. 

MEMPHIS 

CINCINNATI 

NEW  HAVEN 

ST.  LOUIS 

ROCHESTER 

WORCESTER 

PROVIDENCE 

PITTSBURG 

MINNEAPOLIS 

NEWARK 

JERSEY  CITY 

SCRANTON 

BOSTON 

ST.PAUL 

BUFFALO.... 

SAN  FRANCISCO  _ 

CLEVELAND. 

PATERSON  

DETROIT 

NEW  YORK 

CHICAGO.-- 

MILWAUKEE 

FALL    RIVER 


10  20  30  40  50  60  70  SO  SO  1OO 


mmw/////. 


V//////y///////^ 


' 


•.:<-    •    .  • 


NATIVE  WHITE  OF    NATIVE  PARENTS 


|  NATIVE   WHITE  OF  FOREIGN  PARENTS 


3  FOREIGN  WHITE 


•HI  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  |^H  NEGRO 

TRenroducfed  from  reports  of  Twelfth  U.  S.  Census,  for  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology.] 


§  68]  Statistics.  1 1  7 

this  urban  element  in  this  division  increased  27  per  cent, 
while  the  total  population  increased  more  than  20  per  cent. 
In  Maine,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  New 
York  the  numerical  increase  in  the  urban  element  is  greater 
than  the  increase  of  the  total  population,  so  that  in  the  States 
named  the  rural  population  must  have  actually  diminished. 
Of  course,  this  rapid  increase  in  the  urban  population  of  the 
North  Atlantic  Division  finds  its  cause  in  the  great  extension 
of  manufactures  and  commerce,  requiring  the  aggregation  of 
inhabitants  in  restricted  localities.  The  large  increase  of  city 
population  is  due,  in  some  degree,  to  annexations  to  already 
existing  cities,  but  this  explanation  does  not  alter  the  fact  it- 
self, that  there  is  a  large  and  rapidly  increasing  city  population 
as  compared  with  the  population  of  rural  districts. 

68.   Apprehension  from  Alleged  Congestion  of  Cities. 

This  rapid  growth  often  causes  great  apprehension  as  to  the 
character  of  our  population  and  as  to  the  influence  of  cities  as 
controlling  powers  in  the  politics  of  the  country;  and  very  fre- 
quently it  excites  the  fears  of  students  of  social  science,  lest  it 
result  in  increased  congestion  of  the  slum  population  in  cities. 
The  only  method  of  dealing  with  such  a  question  is  to  examine 
the  actual  state  of  affairs  in  some  of  our  largest  cities.  Those 
have  been  selected  for  which  the  facts  could  be  more  readily 
studied.  The  statistics  of  population  by  wards  of  the  cities  of 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  and  Boston  for  1880,  1890,  and 
1900,  reveal  the  facts  relative  to  the  population  for  the  con- 
gested wards,  the  remaining  wards,  and  for  all  wards  in  each 
of  the  cities  for  the  years  named. 

A  study  of  the  statistics  throws  great  light  upon  the  sup- 
posed concentration  of  population  in  the  slums  of  the  cities 
named.  In  New  York  the  increase  in  the  congested  wards 
(and  for  this  purpose  all  the  wards  south  of  Fourteenth  Street 
have  been  taken)  was  in  the  twenty  years  from  1880  to  1900 
but  124,534,  or  20.96  per  cent,  while  the  increase  for  the 
whole  city  for  the  twenty  years  was  643,794,  or  53.36  per  cent. 


ii8         Urban  and  Rural  Population.         [§68 

Certainly  during  the  twenty  years  there  has  been  no  alarming 
increase  of  population  in  the  congested  territory  described.1 
The  remaining  wards  increased  519,260,  or  84.79  Per  cent. 

Turning  to  Philadelphia,  and  taking  the  compact  wards,  we 
find  there  has  been  a  gain  in  the  twenty  years  of  10,776,  or 
2.68  per  cent,  the  wards  other  than  the  congested  wards  show- 
ing a  gain  of  435,751,  or  97.70  per  cent,  while  the  total  gain 
for  the  whole  city  was  446,527,  or  52.70  per  cent. 

Similar  conditions  are  shown  for  Boston.  In  the  twenty 
years  named,  the  congested  wards,  which  include  all  the  slum 
population  of  the  city,  gained  only  2,132,  or  2.17  per  cent; 
while  in  the  remaining  wards  there  was  a  gain  of  195,920,  or 
73.99  per  cent.  The  gain  in  the  whole  city  was  198,053  or 


1  POPULATION  OF  NEW  YORK,  PHILADELPHIA,  AND  BOSTON  AT  THE 
CENSUSES  OF  1880,  1890,  AND  1900,  IN  CONGESTED  WARDS  AND 
IN  OTHER  WARDS,  SHOWING  NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  GAIN. 
(See  full  tables  for  1870,  1880,  and  1890,  in  Urban  Population,  by  the 
Author,  Popular  Science  Monthly,  February,  1892.) 


Population. 

Gain, 

Per  cent 

1880. 

1890. 

1900. 

1880-1900. 

1880-1900 

New  York. 

- 

(Manhattan  borough.) 

Congested  Wards  l  . 

593.9M 

596,831 

718,448 

124-534 

20.96 

Remaining  Wards    . 

612,385 

918,470 

1,131,645 

519,260 

84.79 

Total    .... 

1,206,299 

1,515,301 

1,850,093 

643,794 

53-36 

Philadelphia. 

Congested  Wards  2   . 

4oi,795 

407,631 

412,571 

10,776 

2.68 

Remaining  Wards    . 

445-375 

639,333 

88!,  126 

435,75' 

97.70 

Total    .... 

847,170 

1,046,964 

",293,697 

446,527 

52.70 

Boston. 

Congested  Wards  3  . 

98,074 

99.094 

100,206 

2,132 

2.17 

Remaining  Wards    . 

264.765 

349)383 

460,686 

195,920 

73-99 

Total    .... 

362,839 

448,477 

560,892 

198,053 

54-58 

1  First  to  seventeenth  inclusive,  except  the  twelfth,  which  is  an  outlying  ward. 

2  Second  to  twentieth  inclusive,  except  the  fifteenth. 

3  The  sixth,  seventh,  eighth,  tenth,  twelfth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeenth. 


§  69]  Congestion  in  Cities.  1 19 

54.58  per  cent.  The  population  of  the  old  city  of  Boston, 
prior  to  any  of  its  modern  annexations,  was,  in  1870,  138,781, 
and  in  1890,  161,330,  a  gain  of  16.25  Per  cent-  The  popu- 
lation of  the  annexations  in  1870  was  111,745,  an<^  m  1890, 
287,147,  a  gain  of  175,402,  or  156.97  per  cent.  This  com- 
parison cannot  be  made  for  1900.  If  the  comparisons  based 
on  the  population  of  congested  wards  in  the  three  cities  named 
were  carried  back  to  1870,  the  conclusions  would  be  practically 
the  same  as  those  based  on  the  populations  of  1880  and  1900. 
These  facts  certainly  remove  all  apprehension  as  to  the 
increase  of  the  slum  population  of  the  cities  named.  It  is 
a  perfectly  reasonable  conclusion  that  the  population  of  such 
districts  cannot  increase,  and  that,  while  there  is  a  great  setting 
of  people  toward  our  cities,  they  are  found  as  a  rule  among  the 
suburban  population,  in  healthy  sanitary  districts ;  and  that 
whatever  influx  there  is  to  the  slum  localities  is  entirely  offset 
by  the  people  outgoing  from  such  districts. 

69.    Redistribution  of  City  Population. 

That  these  results  are  not  accidental  is  shown  by  the  similar 
experience  of  London.  Mr.  Sidney  J.  Low,  in  the  "  Contem- 
porary Review  "  for  October,  1891,  has  analysed  certain  statis- 
tics from  the  English  census  of  1891,  in  which  he  shows  the 
conditions  of  the  population  of  the  typical  districts  of  inner 
London,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  with  their  rates  of  increase 
or  decrease  since  1881.  In  regard  to  these  districts,  Mr.  Low 
remarks  that  some  of  them  are  wealthy  residential  districts, 
while  many  of  them  are  poor  and  others  altogether  poverty- 
stricken.  "  Bethnal  Green,  Whitechapel,  St.  Olave,  Southwark, 
and  parts  of  St.  Pancras,  St.  Giles,  and  Holborn,"  he  says, 
"are  tinted  with  a  very  dark  brush  on  Mr.  Charles  Booth's 
excellent  comparative  maps  of  London  poverty."  And  Mr. 
Low  further  says  :  "  It  is  not  unsatisfactory  to  find  that  the 
dwellers  in  these  localities  are  obeying  the  great  law  of  centri- 
fugal attraction,  and  quitting  the  inner  recesses  of  the  me- 
tropolis to  find  homes  in  the  outskirts.  The  people  who  leave 


j  20         Urban  and  Rural  Population.          [§69 

Hatton  Garden  and  Commercial  Street  and  Hoxton,  and 
Seven  Dials,  either  forced  out  by  <  improvements '  or  volun- 
tarily retiring,  do  not  go  to  the  country  —  that  we  know  well 
enough ;  nor  do  the  country  folks  come  in  to  take  their  places 
in  any  large  numbers.  For  the  immigrant  from  the  congested 
districts  of  the  town,  and  for  the  emigrant  from  the  decaying 
rural  parishes,  we  must  look  to  the  suburbs ;  and  we  find  him 
there,  if  figures  can  tell  us  anything.  .  .  . 

"  Here  is  where  the  increase  of  '  Greater  London,'  with  its 
five  and  a  half  millions  of  inhabitants,  is  found.  It  is  not,  as 
hasty  observers  have  imagined,  in  the  teeming  alleys  of '  Dark- 
est London,'  or  in  the  warren  of  rabbit-hutches  which  spreads 
for  a  mile  or  two  north  and  south  of  the  Thames.  The  centre 
of  population  is  shifting  from  the  heart  to  the  limbs.  The  life- 
blood  is  pouring  into  the  long  arms  of  brick  and  mortar  and 
cheap  stucco  that  are  feeling  their  way  out  to  the  Surrey  moors 
and  the  Essex  flats  and  the  Hertfordshire  copses.  Already 
'  Outer  London  '  is  beginning  to  vie  in  population  with  the 
'  Inner  Ring  ; '  a  few  decades  hence,  and  it  will  have  altogether 
passed  it.  ... 

"The  population  is  not  shifting  from  the  fields  to  the  slums; 
and  the  slums  themselves  are  not  becoming  fuller,  but  the  re- 
verse. So  far  from  the  heart  of  the  city  being  congested  with 
the  blood  driven  from  the  extremities,  we  find,  on  the  contrary, 
that  the  larger  centres  of  population  are  stationary,  or  thinning 
down  ;  it  is  the  districts  all  round  them  which  are  filling  up. 
The  greatest  advance  in  the  decade  is  shown  not  in  the  cities 
themselves,  but  in  the  ring  of  suburbs  which  spread  into  the 
country  about  them.  If  the  process  goes  on  unchecked,  the 
Englishman  of  the  future  will  be  of  the  city,  but  not  in  it.  The 
son  and  grandson  of  the  man  from  the  fields  will  neither  be  a 
dweller  in  the  country  nor  a  dweller  in  the  town.  He  will  be 
a  suburb-dweller.  The  majority  of  the  people  of  this  island 
will  live  in  the  suburbs  ;  and  the  suburban  type  will  be  the 
most  widespread  and  characteristic  of  all,  as  the  rural  has  been 
in  the  past,  and  as  the  urban  may  perhaps  be  said  to  be  in  the 
present." 


§69]  Redistribution  in  Cities.  121 

This  aspect  of  affairs  represents  clearly  the  only  condition 
that  could  have  been  expected.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  the  cities  named  are  great  mercantile  and  manufacturing 
centres,  their  prosperity  developing  rapidly,  and  that  the  very 
rapidity  of  the  commercial  or  industrial  development  of  cities 
retards  the  growth  of  population  in  the  compact  quarters. 
Every  time  an  advance  is  made  along  a  street  by  the  exten- 
sion of  business  houses,  the  families  living  there  are  crowded 
out ;  they  may  move  to  other  parts  of  the  city  or  locate  in  the 
suburbs;  in  either  event  there  is  only  a  shifting  of  population, 
and  not  an  increase.  The  transfer  of  great  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments from  the  city  to  the  country  carries  large  numbers 
of  families,  or  if  the  transfer  is  made  within  the  city  limits 
there  is  simply  a  change  in  location  of  the  population  inter- 
ested in  the  establishment.  In  taking  the  Federal  census  of 
1880  for  the  State  of  Massachusetts  a  loss  in  one  of  the  wards 
of  the  city  of  Boston  was  discovered  ;  but  upon  investigation  it 
was  found  that  the  removal  of  one  establishment  from  that 
ward  to  another  in  a  distant  part  of  the  city  had  carried  with 
it  more  than  one  thousand  people  ;  so  that  this  one  transaction 
affected  the  status  of  two  sections  of  the  city  without  really 
much  altering  social  conditions.  Cities  lay  out  new  streets 
and  avenues,  necessitating  the  tearing  down  of  rookeries  and 
crowded  tenement  houses.  Every  such  improvement  displaces 
a  large  number  of  families,  who  seek  a  residence  either  in  some 
other  part  of  the  city  or  in  the  suburbs.  Thus,  the  building  of 
a  large  number  of  houses,  often  referred  to  as  an  evidence  of 
increase  of  population,  may  mean  only  a  demand  for  tenements 
to  accommodate  previous  residents  ;  even  in  a  country  town  a 
new  house  or  a  dozen  new  houses  may  be  entirely  the  result  of 
the  improved  financial  condition  of  one  or  several  families  for- 
merly living  in  the  same  house.  The  retarding  influence  of  the 
increase  of  trade  and  manufactures  must  be  felt  more  and  more 
as  their  extension  becomes  more  rapid,  and  in  all  great  cities 
where  large  business  blocks  are  erected  in  place  of  crowded 
tenements  there  must  be  a  dispersion  of  population,  the  move- 


122         Urban  and  Rural  Population.          [§  69 


ment  being  assisted  greatly  by  rapid  transit  lines,  as  will  be 
shown  in  the  following  chapter,  in  the  remarks  on  rapid  transit 

(§  78). 

The  presence  of  a  large  percentage  of  the  foreign-born  in 
the  great  cities  of  the  country  is  an  important  factor  in  consid- 
ering urban  and  rural  population.  Taking  the  161  principal 
cities  of  the  country,  —  that  is,  those  having  25,000  or  more 
inhabitants,  —  it  is  found  that  they  contain  5,147,716  foreign- 
born  persons,  which  is  49.2  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  such 
persons  in  the  United  States.  The  concentration  of  foreign-born 
in  the  congested  districts  of  Baltimore,  Chicago,  New  York,  and 
Philadelphia,  is  shown  in  the  following  table  from  the  seventh 
special  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Com.  of  Labour  (1894)  : 

NATIVITY  OF  THE  SLUM  POPULATION  AND  TOTAL  POPULATION 
COMPARED. 


Slum  Population  (1894). 

Total  Population  (1890). 

Native  Horn 
(per  cent). 

Foreign  Born 
(per  cent)- 

Native  Born 
(per  cent). 

Foreign  Born 
(per  cent). 

Baltimore    .     . 

59-79 

4O.2I 

84.12 

15.88 

Chicago  .     . 

42.49 

57-51 

59.02 

40.98 

New  York  . 

37-42 

62.58 

57-77 

42.23 

Philadelphia    . 

39-55 

60.45 

74.26 

25-74 

To  be  explicit,  in  New  York  it  is  found  that  the  native-born 
white  persons  constitute  57.77  per  cent  of  the  total  population 
of  the  city  and  the  foreign-born  element  42.23  per  cent,  while 
for  the  congested  or  slum  districts  the  native-born  element  is 
37.42  percent  and  the  foreign-born  element  62.58  percent  of 
the  population  of  such  district.  It  is  unfortunate  that  these 
calculations  cannot  be  made  for  dates  later  than  1890  and 
1894,  but  they  illustrate  that  the  immigration  question  is  the 
most  serious  in  our  large  cities. 


§  ;o]         Density  of  Urban  Population.          123 

70     Density  of  Urban  Population. 

The  density  of  population  in  large  cities  leads  to  many  erro 
neous  conclusions.  The  population  to  each  acre  or  to  each 
square  mile  of  a  city  cannot  well  be  compared  with  that  for 
another  city  unless  the  exact  area  of  dense  population  is 
known ;  as,  for  instance,  a  city  may  comprise  50  square  miles 
of  territory  and  have  500,000  population.  This  would  give 
10,000  to  each  square  mile.  But  this  population  for  topo- 
graphical reasons  may  actually  be  compressed  into  half  the 
area,  showing  20,000  persons  to  the  square  mile.  Another 
city  of  like  area  and  like  total  population,  but  with  the  people 
distributed  more  evenly  over  the  whole  area,  would  be  in  a 
much  better  sanitary  condition  than  a  city  under  the  first  illus- 
tration, although  in  statistics  the  population  per  square  mile 
would  be  the  same  when  the  whole  area  is  considered. 

Taking  38  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  country,  those  having  a 
population  of  over  100,000  each  (the  total  population  of  these 
cities  being  14,208,347,  and  comprising  18.6  per  cent  of  the 
total  population  of  the  country),  the  density  is  1 1.3  to  the  acre  ; 
but  the  differences  in  density  of  population  are  very  great,  being 
4.0  to  the  acre  in  St.  Paul,  5.9  in  Minneapolis,  6.5  in  Omaha, 
2.3  in  New  Orleans,  13.1  in  Buffalo,  14.75  m  Chicago,  3.9 
in  Denver,  14.6  in  St.  Louis,  7.25  in  Washington  and  16.43 
in  Greater  New  York.  Before  the  consolidation  it  was  15.69 
in  the  latter  city.  Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  the  skilful  statisti- 
cian in  charge  of  vital  statistics  at  the  Eleventh  Census,  when 
speaking  of  these  matters,  was  very  careful  to  remark  that  the 
ratios  indicated  "  give  no  information  as  to  the  difference  in 
density  of  the  population  in  the  actually  built-up  portions," 
and  he  stated  that  in  New  York  the  number  of  persons  per  acre 
ranged  from  543  in  ward  10  to  3  in  ward  24,  while  in  Chicago 
there  was  a  range  from  1 1  7  in  ward  16  to  0.58  in  ward  27. 
These  instances  show  the  extremes,  and  teach  emphatically 
that  any  comparison  of  population  to  the  acre  or  to  the  square 
mile  for  purposes  of  drawing  conclusions  relative  to  sanitary 
and  other  conditions  must  be  avoided. 


124         Urban  and  Rural  Population.          [§71 

71.     Vital  Statistics  of  Cities. 

Physicians  have  taken  much  interest  in  censuses,  and  in 
many  cases  the  social  facts  relating  to  population  have  been 
preserved  for  certain  prescribed  health  districts.1  The  way  is 
thus  prepared  for  a  scientific  study  of  death  rates  and  of  den- 
sity of  population  where  the  sanitary  conditions  can  be  com- 
pared and  differences  of  condition  noted.  The  ordinary 
statistics  of  death  rates  in  cities  are  exceedingly  untrustworthy. 
The  errors  arise  from  two  causes  :  the  first  is  the  incomplete- 
ness of  death  statistics,  which  could  be  overcome  only  by  a 
compulsory  registration  of  deaths ;  the  second  cause  is  that 
population  is  not  accurately  known  except  for  periods  some 
years  apart,  and  for  intermediate  years  the  death  rate  must  be 
based  upon  calculations  of  population  mathematically  made. 
In  some  cases  this  has  caused  fright  and  anxiety  on  account  of 
an  alarming  apparent  death  rate,  when,  had  the  facts  all  been 
known,  it  would  have  been  found  that  the  death  rate  was  really 
normal.  Another  cause  of  erroneous  conclusions  arises  from 
the  existence  of  large  hospitals  in  cities,  so  that  the  death  rate 
is  increased  by  people  coming  from  the  country  to  the  cities 
for  treatment.  This  is  also  true  in  connection  with  the  crimi- 
nal statistics  of  cities.  Men  come  in  from  country  towns  for 
the  purpose  of  a  visit,  or  a  spree,  or  crime.  Whatever  the  pur- 
pose, when  they  commit  crime  within  the  city  limits, -they  are 
there  arrested  and  punished,  and  help  to  swell  abnormally  the 
legitimate  criminal  statistics  of  the  city  itself.  All  these  con- 
siderations should  be  taken  into  account  when  writers  are  under- 
taking to  draw  what  they  feel  to  be  accurate  conclusions  through 
comparisons  of  statistics.  Learned  essays  upon  conditions  of 
the  population,  involving  insanity,  crime,  disease,  death,  etc., 
have  been  written,  in  which  all  the  conclusions  of  the  essays 
were  based  upon  most  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory  data.  It 
is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  experts  in  charge  of  such  impor- 
tant inquiries  everywhere  are  now  thoroughly  alive  to  all  the 
opportunities  of  error  which  ordinarily  and  naturally  arise 
under  imperfect  statistics. 

1  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Censuses,  Reports  on  Vital  Statistics. 


CHAPTER    IX. 
SPECIAL   PROBLEMS    OF   CITY    LIFE. 

72.    References. 

United  States,  Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population,  Part  II.  (chapter 
on  proprietorship) ;  Albert  Shaw,  Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain, 
and  Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe  ;  Municipal  Affairs  ( a 
quarterly  journal  published  in  New  York);  A.  ^R.  Conkling,  City  Gov- 
ernment in  the  United  States  ;  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  Government  of  Muni- 
cipalities ;  George  E.  Waring,  Jr.,  Report  on  the  Final  Disposition  of  the 
Wastes  of  New  York  (1896),  Report  of  the  Department  of  Street  Cleaning 
of  the  City  of  New  York  (1898),  and  The  Utilisation  of  City  Garbage,  in 
Cosmopolitan,  XXIV.  405  (Feb.,  1898) ;  Ethelbert  Stewart,  Rates  of  Wages 
paid  under  Public  and  Private  Contract,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour, 
Bulletin,  No.  7  ;  J.  K.  Commons,  A  Comparison  of  Day  Labour  and  Con- 
tract System  on  Municipal  Works,  in  American  Eedcrationist  (Jan.,  1897, 
to  Jan.,  1898,  inclusive)  ;  J.  \V.  Martin,  Direct  Employment  of  Labour 
vs.  The  Contract  System,  in  Municipal  Affairs,  II.  No.  3,  382  (Sept., 
1898) ;  Special  Committee  to  investigate  the  Relations  between  Cities  and 
Towns  and  Street  Railway  Companies  (Charles  Francis  Adams,  Chair- 
man), Report  (published  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  1898) ; 
P.  F.  Sullivan,  Municipal  Ownership  and  Operation  of  Street  Railways,  in 
Street  Railway  Journal  (Nov.,  1897,  p.  751)  ;  Allen  R.  Foote,  Municipal 
Ownership  of  Industries  and  Economic  Value  of  Electric  Light  and  Power  ; 
Albert  Shaw,  Our  Civic  Renaissance,  in  Rei'iew  of  Reviews,  XI.  415  (April, 
1895) ;  Municipal  League  of  Philadelphia,  Reports  ;  Municipal  Reform 
League  of  Boston,  Reports ;  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social 
Science,  Annals  (many  articles  on  municipal  government)  ;  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Labour,  Seventh  Special  Report  (The  Slums  of  Great  Cities), 
Eighth  Special  Report  (The  Housing  of  the  Working  People)  ;  annual  re- 
port, in  September  Bulletin,  on  Cities  ;  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statis- 
tics of  Labour,  Reports  on  Tenement  Houses ;  Tenement  House  Committee 
to  New  York  Legislature,  Report  (1895)  >  Jacob  A.  Riis,  How  the  Other 
Half  Lives,  and  The  Making  of  an  American  ;  Richard  Whiteing,  "No.  5 
John  Street ;  "  Josiah  Flynt,  Notes  of  an  Itinerant  Policeman,  The  Powers 
that  Prey,  and  The  World  of  Graft  ;  W.  II.  Tolman,  "  Model  Tenements," 
in  Arena,  XVI.  595  (Sept.,  1896) ;  Edward  M.  Hartwell,  Public  Baths 

I25 


126  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§72 

in  Europe,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletin  No.  n  ;  Mayor's 
Committee  of  New  York  City  (Wm.  H.  Tolman,  Secretary),  Report  on 
Public  Baths  and  Public  Comfort  Stations ;  J.  S.  Billings,  Public  Health 
and  Municipal  Government,  in  Annals  of  American  Academy  (Feb., 
1891),  Supplement;  Committee  on  Care  and  Management  of  the  Brook- 
line  Public  Bath,  Report  (1898);  Andrew  U.  White,  The  Government  oj 
American  Cities,  in  Forum,  X.  357  (Dec.,  1890);  Edward  W.  Bemis, 
Municipal  Monopolies ;  William  H.  Tolman,  Municipal  Reform  Move- 
ments ;  Arthur  Sherwell,  Life  in  West  London;  Frank  J.  Goodnow, 
Municipal  Problems  ;  Delos  F.  Wilcox,  The  Study  of  City  Government; 
G.  E.  Hill,  Col.  Waring  on  the  Sanitation  of  Havana,  in  Forum,  XXVI. 
529  (January,  1899). 

73.    Water-works. 

Great  problems  associated  with  life  in  our  large  cities  are 
now  agitating  the  minds  of  men,  especially  those  which  involve 
public  expense  and  the  value  which  is  secured  in  return  for 
taxes  paid.  Such  problems  relate  to  water  supply,  the  supply 
of  gas  and  electricity  for  lighting  purposes,  streets,  street  clean- 
ing, disposal  of  garbage,  sewers,  the  police,  the  housing  of 
the  poor,  the  slums,  rapid  transit,  public  baths,  market  sys- 
tems, etc.  All  these  questions  are  included  in  the  greater 
question  of  municipal  government,  which  in  itself  does  not 
come  within  the  scope  of  this  work ;  but  they  may  all  be  con- 
sidered from  the  social  point  of  view. 

The  citizens  of  all  cities,  meaning  in  this  connection  all 
places  having  city  conditions  without  regard  to  size,  are  inter- 
ested in  the  quantity  and  the  purity  of  the  water  supply ;  cer- 
tainly all  municipalities  of  any  consequence  have  expended  large 
sums  in  securing  an  adequate  supply,  and  in  many  cities  the 
water  is  brought  through  conduits  from  a  long  distance,  so  as 
to  secure  a  water  basin  free  from  contaminating  elements. 
Lakes  among  the  mountains  and  hills,  running  rivers,  and  the 
great  fresh-water  lakes  of  the  St.  Lawrence  system  are  the  chief 
sources  of  water  supply.  Where  these  are  not  available  the 
water  is  supplied  from  the  earth  by  means  of  artesian  and 
driven  wells,  and  the  ingenuity  of  engineers  has  purified  the 
supply  by  constructing  reservoirs  or  galleries  for  the  storage 
and  filtering  of  water,  from  which  it  is  pumped  to  standpipes 


§74]  Water-works.  127 

or  elevated  reservoirs  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  citizens 
and  works  of  the  towns. 

There  were  in  the  United  States  in  1899  nearly  2,600 
water-works  ;  about  1,200  were  owned  and  operated  by  private 
corporations,  and  over  1,350  by  the  municipal  governments 
themselves.  Of  the  135  cities  in  1901  of  over  30,000  popula- 
tion, 94  owned  their  own  water-works.  The  greater  proportion 
of  private  works  is  to  be  found,  probably,  in  the  smaller  cities. 

A  great  problem  in  this  connection  grows  out  of  the  enor- 
mous waste  of  public  water.  The  principal  effort  in  this  direc- 
tion has  been  through  the  use  of  water  meters,  the  water-user 
paying  for  the  amount  of  water  used.  This  method  has  never 
been  popular,  either  with  the  people  or  with  city  governments, 
for  the  water-meter  system  is  one  that  would  fall  particularly 
hard  upon  the  very  poor,  and  result  in  their  paying  an  undue 
proportion  of  the  water-tax.  A  more  important  objection, 
however,  lies  in  the  fact  that  by  the  use  of  the  meter  the  very 
poor  would  be  deterred  from  using  water  freely.  Indeed,  the 
great  waste  is  not  so  much  through  domestic  uses,  but  rather 
in  manufacturing  establishments,  public  buildings,  and  shops. 
The  policy  of  every  municipality  should  be  to  furnish  its  citi- 
zens with  ample  water  for  all  reasonable  purposes  at  the  lowest 

cost. 

74.    Lighting  of  Cities. 

Cities  are  lighted  by  gas  and  by  electricity,  and  the  ques- 
tions as  to  economic  conditions  and  purity  of  supply  are  those 
which  attract  the  interest  of  the  citizen.  In  1899  there  were 
over  1,000  gas  plants  in  the  country,  990  being  private,  and  24 
municipal  plants.  There  were  also  about  2,800  electric  light 
and  power  plants,  over  2,400  of  them  being  private  and  415 
municipal  works. 

The  relative  cost  under  municipal  and  private  ownership 
cannot  be  stated  in  a  very  satisfactory  way  at  present.  The 
only  investigations  which  have  been  made  relative  to  municipal 
and  private  lighting  have  been,  as  a  rule,  on  an  individual 
basis  (that  is,  by  students),  except  the  extensive  investigation 


128  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§  74 

lately  conducted  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Labour 
(i4th  annual  report),  which  shows  that  relative  cost  under 
private  and  municipal  control  is  largely  a  matter  of  business 
management. 

The  relative  advantage  of  lighting  streets  by  works  owned  by 
the  city  and  by  those  owned  by  private  corporations  constitutes 
a  very  important  question,  which  cannot  as  yet  be  settled.  It 
is  a  fact  that  the  gaslight  is  gradually  giving  place  to  the  elec- 
tric light,  and  it  is  also  true  that  electric  lighting  is  most 
favoured  in  those  cities  that  have  less  than  100,000  inhab- 
itants ;  but  the  system  is  rapidly  making  its  way  into  the  largest 
cities.  With  a  settlement  of  "the  question  as  to  which  is 
the  more  economical,  private  or  municipal  ownership,  rests  the 
further  question  of  the  extension  of  electric  lighting,  for  the 
municipal  system  of  gas  lighting  as  well  as  of  electric  lighting 
is  oftener  found  in  the  smaller  cities.  Whether  the  great  con- 
solidated gas  interests  of  large  cities  have  secured  such  control 
as  to  prevent  the  extension  of  the  municipal  system  in  such 
cities  remains  to  be  seen  ;  but  whatever  the  obstruction,  the 
question  of  municipal  and  private  control  of  electric  and  gas 
plants  must  eventually  be  settled  on  the  basis  of  cost  of  pro- 
duction and  of  cost  to  the  consumer.  The  agitation  for  cheap 
gas  and  a  more  general  application  of  electricity  will  result  in 
•determining  the  economic  conditions  under  which  they  can  be 
furnished.  Legislation  can  do  something ;  knowledge  can  do 
more,  and  as  experience  proves  this  or  that  method  to  be 
the  more  economical,  it  will  find  an  increasing  number  of 
advocates.  It  is  not  a  question  of  municipal  socialism,  but 
it  is  one  of  economic  supply,  and  the  citizens  will  settle  on 
these  lines  the  question  of  how  their  gas,  electricity,  and  water 
shall  be  furnished. 

The  expansion  of  the  municipal  system,  to  be  successful, 
involves  economy  of  supply  and  a  highly  perfected  civil-service 
system..  Some  States  have  granted  the  power  to  municipalities 
to  construct  and  operate  their  own  gas  and  electric  plants,  as 
well  as  their  water-works.  One  of  the  chief  difficulties  at  the 
present  time  in  ascertaining  the  relative  value  of  the  different 


§§  74,  75]  Streets  and  Sewers.  129 

methods  of  supply  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  cost  of  production 
is  complicated  with  the  administrative  cost  of  the  municipality. 
The  advocates  of  the  municipal  system  draw  on  the  experience 
of  European  cities  for  their  arguments,  while  the  advocates  of 
private  ownership  rely  upon  the  efficiency  which  comes  from 
self-interest  and  competition.  The  problem  is  an  interesting 
one,  and  the  publication  of  facts  relating  to  either  feature  of  it 
will  help  to  solve  it. 

75.     Streets  and  Sewers. 

The  streets  and  sewers  of  cities  are  constructed  and  operated 
under  the  control  and  direction  of  municipal  governments,  and, 
as  a  rule,  with  satisfactory  results.  All  the  questions  connected 
with  these  two  features  of  city  life  are  settled  by  experience. 
Municipal  politics  may  now  and  then  have  much  to  do  with 
increasing  the  cost  or  delaying  the  completion  of  streets  and 
sewers,  but  in  the  end  the  citizens  are  well  if  expensively 
served.  The  health  of  a  city  depends  so  largely  upon  these 
matters  that  good  sewers  with  ample  capacity  are  among  the 
surest  indications  of  an  enlightened  population,  and  no  city  can 
afford  to  neglect  them. 

In  the  construction  of  streets  the  public  demands  of  the  city 
governments  not  only  smooth  and  durable  roadways,  with  every 
attention  given  to  grades  and  the  quality  of  the  pavement  used, 
but  sidewalks  well  and  conveniently  laid.  The  construction  of 
streets  is  perhaps  the  most  important  question,  so  far  as  the 
business  interests  of  a  city  are  concerned,  and  in  order  to  com- 
ply with  all  demands  many  experiments  have  been  tried,  —  the 
macadamised  road,  which  is  constructed  by  having  a  thorough 
broken-stone  foundation  overlaid  with  clay  soil,  the  whole  closely 
compacted  ;  the  use  of  square  stone  blocks,  or  the  Belgian  pave- 
ment ;  wooden  pavements,  consisting  of  blocks  of  wood  set 
perpendicularly,  and  now  the  asphalt,  or  smooth  pavement,  and 
vitrified  bricks.  There  are  valid  arguments  in  favour  of  each 
of  these  methods  of  construction,  most  of  which  relate  to  the 
health  and  personal  comfort  of  the  inhabitants.  The  macada- 

9 


130  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§75 

mised  street  is  smooth  and  hard,  but  dusty ;  the  Belgian  pave- 
ment is  hard,  rough,  and  more  noisy  than  any  other,  but  it 
admits  of  absorption  of  water,  whereas  asphalt  sheds  all  the 
water  and  the  sewers  oftentimes  prove  inadequate.  The  old- 
fashioned  cobble-stone  and  the  Belgian  pavement  withstand 
the  wear  of  heavy  traffic  better  than  any  others,  but  when  the 
wear  and  tear  of  vehicles  and  of  horses  are  considered  (which 
must  be  borne  by  the  owners),  it  is  doubtful  whether  there  is 
much  economy  in  the  use  of  stone  pavements.  At  the  present 
time  the  question  as  to  the  powers  of  city  governments  to  make 
ordinances  which  shall  result  in  the  prevention  of  noise  is  being 
thoroughly  discussed.  The  use  of  rubber  tires  may  yet  be 
compulsory. 

The  introduction  of  water  for  domestic  and  public  uses  neces 
sitates  a  sewer  system,  the  surface  drainage  of  Baltimore,  ot 
parts  of  Philadelphia,  and  of  some  other  cities,  being  a  melan- 
choly remnant  of  barbarism.  The  disposal  of  sewage  is  some- 
times a  difficult  matter,  but  generally  it  is  carried  to  ocean  or 
river  water.  Many  experiments  have  been  made  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  animal  and  vegetable  matter  of  sewage  into  blocks 
convenient  for  handling,  to  be  used  for  fertilising  purposes, 
while  other  experiments  have  been  conducted  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  it  by  fire  or  by  chemical  processes.  Much 
anxiety  is  felt  lest  the  waste  of  sewage  by  carrying  it  into  water 
may  result  in  a  robbery  of  the  land  of  the  chemical  ingredients 
necessary  to  sustain  its  productive  vitality.  In  some  places  in 
this  country  and  in  Europe  it  is  utilised  on  what  are  called 
sewage-farms.  At  present  most  large  cities  find  it  to  their  ad- 
vantage to  carry  their  sewage  as  far  away  as  possible,  into  lakes, 
or  into  the  ocean,  or  to  flowing  rivers. 

The  street-cleaning  problem  has  practically  been  settled  in 
large  cities  through  perfected  organisation  of  a  street-cleaning 
force.  The  most  notable  instance  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the 
experience  of  the  city  of  New  York,  whose  streets  a  few  years 
ago  were  very  filthy,  but  are  now  among  the  cleanest  of  those 
of  any  city  in  the  world.  This  desirable  state  of  affairs  was 


§  7s]  Streets  and  Sewers.  131 

brought  about  quickly  through  systematic  organisation.  The 
great  street-sweeping  machines  that  are  used  in  many  cities 
have  accomplished  most  excellent  results ;  but  it  is  beginning 
to  be  seen  that  by  a  well-organised  street-cleaning  force,  with 
brooms,  shovels,  and  carts,  the  streets  can  be  kept  clean  at  rea- 
sonable cost,  although  somewhat  greater  than  that  accompany- 
ing the  use  of  horse-power  machines.  Contractors  are  always 
ready  to  take  the  cleanings  of  streets  for  fertilising  purposes, 
returning  some  compensation  to  the  city. 

The  removal  and  disposal  of  garbage  is  still  an  unsolved 
problem.  Generally,  city  governments  look  after  this,  either 
through  their  own  force  of  garbage  collectors  or  through  con- 
tractors. Neither  method  has  yet  proved  entirely  satisfactory. 
Chemists  and  mechanics  are  now  striving  to  solve  the  question, 
and  many  devices  have  been  offered  to  the  public  for  the 
rapid  and  effective  disposal  of  garbage.  The  two  principal 
methods  consist  of  chemical  reduction  and  cremation.  In 
New  York,  and  perhaps  in  some  other  large  cities,  garbage 
from  kitchens  and  markets  is  being  utilised  by  processes  of 
separation,  the  ammonia,  glue,  and  other  minor  products  find- 
ing ready  and  profitable  sale.  According  to  the  late  Colonel 
George  E.  Waring,  Jr.,  city  garbage  from  kitchens  and 
markets  contains  about  7  per  cent  of  rubbish,  such  as  cans, 
bottles,  rags,  etc.,  more  than  3  per  cent  of  grease,  20  per  cent 
of  animal  and  vegetable  dry  matter,  and  nearly  7  per  cent 
of  water.  Nearly  everything  but  the  water  is  utilised,  and 
a  fair  profit  realised.  The  grease  finds  its  market,  and 
the  animal  and  vegetable  dry  matter  is  carried  back  to  the 
country  as  a  fertiliser. 

It  is  during  the  heated  term  that  the  garbage  question 
presents  itself  most  forcibly  to  householders.  In  the  winter 
months  much  of  the  refuse  is  disposed  of  in  furnaces  and 
kitchen  ranges.  This  is  a  crude  method,  but  suggestive  of 
the  adoption  of  some  domestic  system  by  which  people  may 
readily  dispose  at  home  of  the  garbage  that  constantly  ac- 
cumulates in  household  work. 


132  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§75 

Good  water  and  plenty  of  it,  good  and  clean  streets,  safe 
sewerage,  and  facilities  for  the  removal  and  disposal  of  gar- 
bage are  vital  necessities  to  the  hygiene  of  cities,  and  greatly 
reduce  the  death-rate  from  zymotic  diseases. 

76.  The  Police. 

The  police  force  of  cities  is  generally  placed  under  a  super- 
intendent or  captain  of  police,  and  it  is  organised  somewhat 
as  a  military  body,  having  lieutenants,  sergeants,  patrolmen, 
etc.  It  is  the  visible  representative  of  the  governing  power, 
being  always  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and  thus  subject  to 
public  opinion  in  very  direct  ways.  The  class  of  men  called 
into  the  police  service  should  be,  and  usually  is,  of  a  high 
physical  order,  —  men  of  strength,  courage,  and  endurance. 
At  the  present  time  the  effort  is  to  secure  men  having  not 
only  these  qualities,  but  such  as  are  possessed  of  mental  and 
moral  attainments  that  shall  make  them  in  every  respect  true 
executors  of  the  law. 

The  principle  of  civil-service  rules  is  being  applied  in  vari- 
ous cities  to  the  police  force,  and  with  excellent  results.  If 
men  of  intelligence,  judgment,  and  moral  character  can  be 
secured  for  police  duty,  much  will  be  gained  toward  main- 
taining good  order  and  (which  is  equally  important)  toward 
the  suppression  of  vice.  An  intelligent,  honest  policeman, 
capable  of  physically  enduring  the  hardships  of  the  service,  is 
an  honour  and  a  credit  to  his  municipality. 

Sometimes,  when  the  police  force  of  a  large  city  has  become 
demoralised  through  local  political  influences,  or  through  the 
existing  conditions  of  vice,  the  legislative  power  of  the  State 
has  been  brought  to  bear  through  statutory  regulations,  even 
to  the  extent  of  placing  the  force  under  the  direct  supervision 
of  officers  appointed  by  the  State  executive  ;  but  as  a  rule  city 
governments  have  been  left  to  control  their  own  police.  The 
whole  question  is,  how  to  secure  good  men  who  are  thoroughly 
in  sympathy  with  the  best  elements  of  the  city,  and  interested 
in  suppressing  crime  and  vice  rather  than  in  making  records. 


§77]  Police  —  Wages.  133 

The  duties  of  the  police  are  to  preserve  order,  to  see  that 
all  laws  relating  to  the  sale  of  liquor  are  enforced,  that  all  city 
ordinances  relating  to  sanitation  and  health  are  enforced,  to 
take  care  of  persons  who  are  injured  on  the  streets,  to  look  out 
for  fires,  —  in  fact,  to  do  all  things  which  relate  to  the  orderly 
conduct  of  the  city.  They  cannot  enter  houses  and  make 
arrests  unless  an  actual  disturbance  is  going  on,  nor  can  they 
make  arrests  on  the  streets  without  a  warrant  unless  persons 
are  disorderly,  and  the  offender  must  then,  as  a  rule,  be  appre- 
hended at  the  time.  Policemen  may,  under  some  conditions, 
serve  processes  and  make  arrests  at  times  other  than  during  a 
disturbance ;  but  the  serving  of  the  usual  processes  of  law  is 
generally  delegated  to  another  class  of  officers,  —  sheriffs  and 
constables. 

The  police  force  is  utilised  in  peaceful  ways  also,  especially 
in  cities  where  there  are  large  free  public  libraries.  The 
name  of  a  person  desiring  to  use  the  books  of  such  a  library 
is  given  to  the  policeman  whose  tour  of  duty  is  nearest  the 
residence  of  the  applicant,  with  instructions  to  report  as  to 
his  worthiness  and  integrity.  The  police  are  also  sometimes 
employed  in  taking  school  or  general  censuses. 

The  policemen  are  also  the  protectors  of  the  people  who 
use  the  streets,  seeing  that  the  laws  of  the  road  are  rigidly  en- 
forced and  that  the  rights  of  the  pedestrian  are  duly  re- 
spected. Thus  in  many  ways,  through  their  duties  and  their 
presence,  they  become  familiar  to  all  persons ;  hence  the 
necessity  of  securing  the  very  best  grade  of  men  possible. 

77.   Wages  under  Public  and  Private  Contract. 

An  interesting  economic  question  connected  with  city  gov- 
ernment which  is  now  demanding  attention  is  whether  work 
for  the  municipality  shall  be  done  under  contract  in  the  usual 
way,  or  by  day  labour  employed  and  paid  directly  by  the  city. 
Both  methods  are  in  vogue,  and  the  opportunities  for  compari- 
son are  increasing  in  number  and  importance.  The  experi- 
ment of  day  labour  is  being  worked  out  in  London  under  the 


134  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§77 

London  County  Council  plan,  and  with  fairly  satisfactory  re- 
sults. Some  American  cities,  both  the  largest  and  those  of 
medium  size,  are  also  endeavouring  to  ascertain  which  method 
is  the  more  economical,  and  which  is  the  better  for  the  men 
employed.  In  many  respects  it  is  found  that  labour  paid  by 
the  day  is  more  efficient,  and  the  cost,  taking  the  products  of 
labour  into  consideration,  more  favourable  to  the  city  treasury 
than  under  the  contract  system.  Of  course,  much  depends 
upon  the  contractor  on  the  one  hand  and  the  superintendents 
of  works,  whatever  they  may  be,  on  the  other.  Labour  organ- 
isations everywhere  are  in  favour  of  day  labour  as  against  the 
contract  system. 

The  leading  argument  advanced  is  that  profit  should  not 
be  allowed  on  public  work ;  that  if  a  contractor  can  engage 
to  carry  out  a  certain  piece  of  work,  like  the  building  of  a 
sewer,  he  does  it  because  there  is  profit  in  it,  and  in  order 
to  increase  the  margin  of  profit  hires  labourers  at  the  lowest 
possible  rate  ;  while  if  the  city  itself,  through  its  proper  execu- 
tive officers,  should  undertake  the  work,  it  could  for  the  same 
amount  of  money  build  the  sewer  and  pay  more  satisfactory 
wages  to  labour,  giving  the  labourers,  in  the  form  of  wages, 
that  profit  which  would  otherwise  go  to  the  contractor.  The 
question  will  be  decided  finally  through  experience,  although 
up  to  the  present  time  limited  experience  is  fairly  proving  the 
contention  of  the  labour  organisations. 

78.   Rapid  Transit. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  question  at  present,  at  least  the 
question  which  attracts  public  attention  more  directly  than 
any  other,  is  that  of  rapid  transit.  We  have  seen  that  the 
population  of  cities  is  rapidly  gaining  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  of  population  in  the  whole  country,  and  also  that  this 
growth  in  cities  is  largely  suburban  in  its  character.  The  sub- 
urban growth  is  fed  from  without  and  from  within  (§§  68,  69). 
As  business  is  extended,  and  the  room  and  area  formerly  occu- 
pied by  people  are  taken  for  great  mercantile  houses  and  for 


§78]  Rapid  Transit.  135 

manufacturing,  the  population  of  such  areas  is  of  necessity 
pushed  out  to  the  suburbs,  while  many  seek  suburban  resi- 
dences as  a  matter  of  choice.  From  without,  the  suburban 
population  is  augmented  by  the  rush  to  cities  from  the  coun- 
try. Owing  to  the  improvements  in  methods  of  agriculture, 
by  which  production  from  the  earth  becomes  in  some  sense  a 
manufacture,  a  smaller  number  of  persons  is  required  for  agri- 
cultural purposes  than  of  old.  The  question  is  often  asked 
why,  if  population  increases,  there  is  not  an  increasing  neces- 
sity of  supplying  food  products  ;  and  if  there  is  such  a  neces- 
sity, why  can  great  numbers  be  spared  from  the  rural  districts 
to  engage  in  the  business  undertakings  of  the  cities?  Im- 
proved methods  of  production  offer  an  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion, the  result  being  that  since  the  labour  of  the  open  country 
is  not  in  so  great  demand,  even  to  supply  the  vast  increase 
required  in  food  products,  it  seeks  remunerative  employment 
in  centres  of  population.  As  the  contraction  of  labour  through 
invention  goes  on,  the  expansion  of  labour  through  invention 
grows  to  a  greater  extent ;  and  it  is  probably  true  that  through 
inventions,  or  through  great  industries  which  have  come  into 
being  in  recent  years,  a  larger  number  of  people  find  new  em- 
ployment than  are  deprived  of  employment  through  improved 
methods  (§§  136,  138,  139).  The  great  industries  associated 
with  electricity,  railroad  enterprises,  the  building  of  new  kinds 
of  machinery,  and  the  absorbing  in  various  ways  of  labourers  in 
occupations  not  known  until  within  a  few  years,  enable  manu- 
facturing centres  to  furnish  gainful  work  to  those  coming  from 
the  country,  where,  relatively  speaking,  they  are  not  needed. 
These  people  take  up  their  residence  in  the  suburbs,  though 
they  may  find  their  occupation  in  crowded  areas  of  the  cities 
themselves.  The  question  of  rapid  transit  in  cities,  therefore, 
becomes  one  not  only  of  great  interest  in  the  study  of  the 
movement  of  population  at  the  present  time,  but  one  of  prime 
necessity  for  the  consideration  of  municipal  governments.  It 
is  something  more  than  a  question  of  economics  or  of  business 
convenience ;  it  is  a  social  and  an  ethical  question  as  well. 


136  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§78 

According  to  the  data  for  1901,  the  total  track  mileage  of  the 
street  railways  of  the  United  States  was  23,036.  Of  this 
amount  22,063  miles  were  operated  by  electric,  241  miles  by 
cable,  332  miles  by  horse,  and  400  miles  by  miscellaneous  or 
unclassified  power.  On  the  electric  roads  there  were  62,591 
cars,  on  the  cable  roads  1,643  cars>  on  tne  horse-power 
roads  1,411  cars,  on  the  roads  operated  by  unclassified  power 
3,132  cars,  making  a  total  of  68,777  cars-  There  were  1,062 
companies,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $1,324,072,053,  and  a 
funded  debt  amounting  to  $1,086,598,082,  or  a  total  of 
$2,410,670,135  capital  liabilities. 

The  relative  economy  of  cable,  electric,  and  animal  motive- 
power  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion,  and  the  facts 
are  probably  better  known  by  the  operators  of  roads  than  by 
the  public.  The  lack  of  uniform  accounts  of  railways  prevents 
the  use  of  statistics  for  the  formation  of  any  final  judgment  on 
this  point,  especially  as  the  electric  roads  which  have  lately 
come  into  operation  have  not  had  experience  enough  to  afford 
final  conclusions  as  to  economy  of  service.  Experience,  how- 
ever, such  as  it  is,  points  to  electric  power  as  that  which  will 
be  generally  employed,  even  more  than  at  present.  Such  facts 
as  are  obtainable  show  that  both  cable  and  electric  railroads 
are  operated  with  greater  economy  than  railways  using  animal 
power,  but  that  electric  railways,  which  have  the  least  expense 
per  car  mile,  have  the  greatest  expense  per  passenger  carried, 
owing  to  a  smaller  number  of  passengers  per  car  mile  or  per 
trip  than  either  of  the  other  classes  have.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  new  lines  over  which  the  passenger  traffic  has 
been  but  partly  developed  are  chiefly  electric. 

This  whole  matter  constitutes  a  question  of  the  most  vital 
interest  to  city  and  suburban  communities,  and  it  leads  to  the 
ethical  consideration  of  the  problem  of  rapid  transit,  for  that 
system  must  eventually  be  used  by  which  passengers  can  be 
transported  from  their  homes  to  their  places  of  business  at  the 
least  possible  expense  and  the  greatest  possible  safety  com- 
mensurate with  high  speed. 

The  necessity  of  living  in  sanitary  localities,  in  moral  and 


§78]  Rapid  Transit.  137 

well-regulated  communities,  where  children  can  have  all  the 
advantages  of  church  and  school,  of  light  and  air,  becomes 
more  and  more  evident  as  municipal  governments  undertake 
to  solve  the  problems  that  are  pressing  upon  them.  If  it  be 
desirable  to  distribute  the  population  of  the  congested  districts 
through  country  districts,  means  must  be  provided  for  safe, 
rapid,  and  cheap  transit  in  and  out ;  or,  inversely,  if  it  be 
desirable  to  build  up  the  suburban  areas,  the  people  must  be 
supplied  with  cheap  and  convenient  means  of  reaching  the 
localities  within  which  they  earn  their  living. 

The  tendency  of  modern  invention  is  constantly  toward  doing 
the  work  of  transportation  at  a  steadily  diminishing  cost  per 
unit,  whether  train  mile,  ton,  or  passenger  mile.  The  benefit 
of  this  cheapening  may  go  in  one  or  other  of  four  ways,  —  in 
lowering  charges,  in  improving  accommodations,  in  bonuses  to 
municipalities,  or  in  increased  dividends  to  the  companies. 

The  reduction  of  fares,  through  improved  means  of  rapid 
transit,  however  desirable,  is  really  a  minor  question.  It  is 
probably  true  that  by  a  slight  reduction  from  a  five-cent  fare 
the  head  of  a  family  engaged  in  mechanical  labour,  earning 
perhaps  five  or  six  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  might  save 
enough  to  pay  taxes,  or  to  offset  church  and  society  assess- 
ments, or  to  furnish  his  family  with  boots  and  shoes,  in  any 
event  extending  his  power  pro  tanto  for  the  elevation  of  his 
family  ;  but  he  does  more  than  this  if  he  can  save  time  by 
increased  speed.  By  the  old  methods  of  transit  from  suburbs 
to  the  heart  of  a  city  a  working  man  in  some  localities  was 
practically  obliged,  while  working  ten  hours  at  his  usual  occu- 
pation, to  spend  two  hours  on  the  horse  railway,  when  now, 
on  one  line,  by  the  use  of  the  electric  car,  he  can  go  to  and 
return  from  his  place  of  work  in  half  that  time,  thereby  actually 
adding  to  his  own  time  an  hour  each  day,  practically  reducing 
his  busy  time  from  twelve  to  eleven  hours  without  reduction 
of  wages  and  without  increased  expense  of  transportation. 
The  question  of  rapid  transit,  therefore,  as  seen  by  this  simple 
illustration,  becomes  one  of  ethical  consideration.  If  there  is 


1 38  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§  7  8 

anything  to  be  gained  by  adding  to  the  time  which  men  have 
at  their  disposal  for  their  own  purposes,  for  intercourse  with 
their  families,  for  social' improvement,  for  everything  for  which 
leisure  is  supposed  to  be  used,  then  the  question  of  rapid 
transit  is  one  of  far  greater  importance  than  that  of  saving 
money  either  to  the  man  who  uses  transportation  or  to  the 
company  that  secures  dividends  upon  its  stock.  All  the 
efforts  that  are  being  made  to  secure  convenient  and  cheap 
rapid  transit  in  great  cities  are  those  which  should  bring  to 
their  support  the  help  of  all  men  who  are  seeking  the  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  the  masses. 

The  second  alternative  is  the  improvement  of  the  service 
by  better  cars,  running  more  frequently  and  at  higher  speed. 
Such  improvements  run  against  a  new  difficulty.  The  increase 
of  street  traffic  arising  from  business  extension  in  cities 
is  crowding  the  street  area,  which  cannot  be  enlarged  to  any 
extent  in  old  cities  like  Boston,  New  York,  or  Philadelphia. 
It  remains  the  same  for  the  accommodation  of  present  popula- 
tion and  business  as  it  was  generations  ago.  The  crowding 
of  streets  with  the  transportation  essential  for  the  movement 
of  goods,  increases  with  great  rapidity,  but  when  the  crowding 
is  augmented  or  perhaps  doubled  by  the  presence  of  the 
means  of  transporting  passengers,  the  difficulties  involved  are 
almost  appalling.  With  every  increase  of  population  the  com- 
panies having  in  charge  transportation  facilities  must,  in  order 
to  accommodate  the  public,  add  more  cars  and  more  animals 
—  if  animals  are  the  motive-power  —  and  so  rapidly  add  to 
the  already  crowded  condition  of  streets.  This  process  is  one 
which  attacks  the  health  and  the  safety  of  the  people.  The 
presence  of  so  many  heavy  animals  constantly  moving  through 
the  streets  is  a  very  serious  matter ;  the  vitiation  of  the  air  is 
alone  a  sufficient  reason  for  their  removal,  while  the  crowded 
condition  of  the  streets  impedes  business,  whether  carried  on 
with  teams  or  on  foot,  and  involves  the  safety  of  life  and 
limb.  It  is  a  positive  necessity  from  this  point  of  view,  that 
the  problems  connected  with  rapid  transit  should  be  speedily 


§§78,79]  Municipal  Ownership.  139 

solved,  and  this  feature  demands  the  efforts  and  the  support 
of  sanitarians.  With  the  removal  of  tracks  from  the  surface, 
and  with  tunnels  built  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  free  from 
dampness  and  to  secure  light  and  air  and  be  easy  of  access, 
as  has  been  done  in  London  and  in  Boston,  all  the  insanitary 
conditions  of  street  railway  traffic  will  be  at  once  and  for  ever 
removed ;  and  if  private  capital  cannot  be  interested  to  a 
sufficient  extent  to  undertake  such  measures,  then  municipal 
governments  must  see  to  it  that  the  health  of  the  community 
is  not  endangered  by  surface  traffic.  When  this  question  is 
allied  to  the  ethical  one,  and  when  one  considers  the  ad- 
vantages to  be  gained,  first,  through  securing  rapid  transit 
from  the  crowded  portions  of  cities  to  the  suburbs,  and, 
second,  by  removing  rapid  transit  traffic  from  the  surface  to 
underground  or  elevated  tracks,  the  importance  of  the  whole 
problem  becomes  clearly  apparent,  and  not  only  the  impor- 
tance of  the  problem,  but  the  necessity  of  its  solution. 

Such  facts  as  are  obtainable  seem  to  indicate  that,  as  a 
matter  of  economy,  the  very  best  equipment  can  be  used  with- 
out increasing  the  tax  upon  individual  passengers.  If  under- 
ground roads  can  be  used  without  at  first  increasing  such  tax, 
and  still  offer  a  reasonable  compensation  for  capital  invested, 
the  gains  to  the  people  at  large  offer  an  inducement  to  capital, 
while  the  many  considerations  of  health  and  morals  offer  men 
who  desire  to  use  their  means  for  the  benefit  of  their  kind  an 
opportunity  that  has  not  existed  in  the  past. 

79.  The  Question  of  Municipal  Ownership. 

There  are  some  very  grave  questions  connected  with  rapid 
transit  outside  of  matters  of  convenience  or  health,  and  they 
relate  to  the  different  methods  of  operating  street  railways. 
Great  complaint  is  made  in  many  places  that  corporations 
have  obtained  without  cost  valuable  franchises,  and  then  have 
capitalised  them  for  large  face  values,  on  which  dividends 
must  be  paid,  —  in  other  words,  that  corporations  induce  city 
governments  to  grant  franchises  for  nothing,  on  the  ground 


140  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§79 

of  public  convenience,  and  then  charge  the  citizens  rates 
which  enable  the  company  to  pay  a  dividend  on  stock  of 
a  fictitious  value,  thereby  making  the  citizens  pay  a  return  on 
what  they  have  granted  as  a  gift.  In  some  States  corporations 
pay  certain  sums  to  municipalities  for  the  franchises  granted, 
thus  securing  to  the  municipal  treasury  some  pecuniary  ad- 
vantage. These  matters,  taken  in  connection  with  the  general 
agitation  of  the  subject  of  municipal  ownership  and  control 
of  quasi-public  works,  have  tended  to  create  a  very  emphatic 
demand  that  cities  shall  put  under  their  own  control,  perhaps 
to  the  extent  of  ownership,  the  whole  street-railway  business. 
Very  many  men  who  would  consent  to  or  approve  of  cities 
keeping  control  of  water-works,  and  perhaps  gas  and  electric- 
light  works,  oppose  most  strenuously  the  municipalisation  of 
street  railways. 

This  question  has  been  discussed  recently  in  a  most  en- 
lightened way  by  a  special  committee  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts  to  consider  the  relations  between 
street-railway  companies  and  municipal  corporations.  The 
report  of  this  committee,  drawn  by  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
and  published  in  February,  1898,  deals  in  part  with  the 
municipalisation  of  street  railways ;  the  committee  states  that 
its  warmest  exponents  admit  that  so  far  as  street  railways 
are  concerned,  municipalisation  is  a  most  important  and  far- 
reaching  proposition,  but  as  yet  in  the  experimental  stage. 
This  is  the  view,  probably,  of  all  enlightened  students  of  the 
subject.  Many  of  the  arguments  are  drawn  from  the  expe- 
rience of  Great  Britain,  where  the  tendency  towards  municipal 
ownership  or  control  of  street  railways  is  very  pronounced  ;  as 
a  system,  it  can  be  studied  in  its  tentative  stages  in  Glasgow, 
Leeds,  and  other  places.  The  committee  named  refers  to  the 
experience  of  Great  Britain  as  follows  :  — 

In  thus  studying  it,  however,  one  thought  immediately  suggests 
itself  to  an  American.  So  far  as  development,  activity,  and  ma- 
terial and  scientific  appliances  and  equipment  are  concerned,  apart 
from  permanent  way  and  track  surface,  the  American  street  rail- 


§79]  Municipal  Ownership.  141 

way  service  is  so  far  in  advance  of  any  to  be  found  in  Great 
Britain  as  not  to  admit  of  a  comparison.  Without  exaggeration, 
it  may  be  said  that,  while  the  street  surfacing,  and  merging  of  track 
with  pavement,  are  there  far  in  advance  of  what  we  ordinarily  find 
in  America,  all  the  other  appliances  and  accommodations  are 
either  antiquated  and  positively  bad,  or  recently  taken  from  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic  and  installed  by  American  companies.  In 
other  words,  in  the  field  of  scientific  apparatus  and  mechanical 
development,  America  has  experimented  at  immense  cost,  as  our 
street  railway  capitalisation  shows,  while  Europe  has  patiently 
waited,  and  is  to-day  rapidly  and  quietly  appropriating  the  results 
for  which  we  have  paid.  As  respects  municipalisation,  the  con- 
ditions are  likely  to  be  reversed.  Foreign  countries,  and  more 
especially  Great  Britain,  seem  disposed  to  experiment,  and  experi- 
ment on  a  very  considerable  scale ;  and  perhaps  it  would  be  wise 
for  America  to  allow  these  countries  in  this  matter  to  bear  the  cost 
of  so  doing,  sure  of  our  ability  at  any  time  to  appropriate  all  the 
useful  results  of  foreign  experience. 

As  yet  no  attempt  at  the  municipalisation  of  street  railways  has 
been  made  in  any  country  on  a  sufficiently  large  scale  and  for  a 
long  enough  time  to  be  of  real  significance.  Glasgow  and  Leeds, 
for  instance,  are  the  two  European  instances  more  frequently  re- 
ferred to.  From  the  statements  often  met  with  in  the  press,  and 
t'.ie  assertions  heard  in  discussion,  it  might  well  be  assumed  that 
the  experiments  made  in  these  cities  amounted  to  an  indisputable 
and  established  success  ;  whereas,  in  point  of  fact,  such  is  not  the 
case.  So  far  from  being  a  demonstrated  success,  it  may,  on  the 
contrary,  be  confidently  asserted  that  nowhere,  as  yet,  has  the  ex- 
periment of  municipalisation  of  street  railways  been  worked  out  to 
any  logical  and  ultimate  results  whatever,  nor  can  it  be  so  worked 
out  for  at  least  a  score  of  years  to  come.  Even  then,  political  habits, 
social  traditions,  and  material  and  economical  conditions  vary  so 
greatly,  and  enter  to  so  large  an  extent  into  the  problem,  that  it  will 
not  be  safe  to  infer  that  what  may  have  proved  safe  and  practicable 
in  one  community  is  either  practicable  or  safe  in  another.  At  the 
present  time,  the  municipalisation  of  the  street  railways  is  not 
accepted  as  by  any  means  indisputably  desirable  in  Great  Britain, 
while  in  Germany  it  is  regarded  unfavorably.  This  last  fact  is  the 
more  noteworthy,  as  Germany  has  been  the  field  in  which  State 
ownership  and  management  of  steam  railroads  has  been  developed 
to  the  fullest  extent,  and  with  results  pronounced  to  be  unquestion- 
able, as  well  as  most  satisfactory. 


142  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§79 

Like  municipalisation  in  other  directions,  experience  only 
can  determine  what  system  will  ultimately  be  adopted.  Econ- 
omy of  service,  speed  with  safety,  the  accommodation  of  the 
public,  —  all  must  be  considered  and  practically  demonstrated. 

A  minor  difficulty,  but  one  that  must  be  considered,  is  the 
obstacle  which  arises  on  account  of  lines  of  street  railways 
passing  from  the  highways  of  one  city  to  those  of  another ; 
but  it  may  be  overcome  through  co-operative  measures,  when 
actual  experience  shows  which  is  the  better  method.  One 
city  is  not  likely  to  own  lines  of  its  own  and  to  operate  them  in 
connection  with  neighbouring  contiguous  cities  where  the  lines 
are  owned  by  private  corporations. 

80.  The  Slum  Question. 

In  all  great  cities  there  are  districts  known  as  slums,  or 
places  in  which  dirty  streets,  inhabited  by  a  squalid  and  crimi- 
nal population,  are  to  be  found,  and  in  which  the  low  and 
dangerous  classes  congregate.  Typical  slums  may  be  either 
streets  or  tenements,  or  blocks  of  houses ;  more  frequently 
they  are  alleys  or  culs-de-sac,  the  street  or  alley  being  very 
narrow,  badly  paved,  with  more  or  less  surface  drainage,  and 
littered  with  garbage  and  debris.  The  buildings  themselves 
are  old,  badly  lighted,  with  narrow  stairways,  dark  corridors, 
small  rooms,  and  filthy  closets ;  they  are  more  like  dens  than 
residences. 

The  question  of  how  to  deal  with  the  slums  of  great  cities 
is  intimately  connected  with  that  of  rapid  transit.  As  shown 
in  the  chapter  on  Urban  and  Rural  Population,  the  denizens 
of  the  slums  of  cities  are  being  crowded  out  through  the  en- 
croachments of  business,  and  they  must  of  necessity  seek  homes 
in  the  suburbs ;  but  the  encroachments  of  business  alone  will 
not  remove  the  worst  places  to  be  found  in  our  great  towns. 
The  cities  themselves,  as  bodies  politic,  must,  through  their 
governments,  take  decisive  measures  in  this  direction.  Glas- 
gow removed  some  of  its  plague-spots  a  few  years  ago  by 
projecting  broad  avenues  through  them.  Other  cities  in  Great 


§80]  The  Slum  Question.  143 

Britain  have  taken  the  same  method,  and  it  is  probably  the 
only  way  by  which  people  can  be  compelled  to  live  in  health- 
ful localities.  It  is  an  expensive  process  at  first,  but  in  the 
long  run  the  city  that  resorts  to  it  will  gain  as  a  city,  while  the 
inhabitants  as  individuals  will  gain  much  more. 

To  the  slum  question  is  devoted  the  Seventh  Special  Report 
of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labour,  and  the  results 
of  his  investigation  show  that  the  conditions  of  slum  life  are 
not  so  appalling  as  they  are  often  painted.  A  very  thorough 
examination  of  the  slums  shows  that  their  inhabitants  are  quite 
as  free  from  sickness  as  those  of  other  localities,  while  as  wage- 
receivers  their  earnings  are  equal  to  those  of  persons  living  in 
better  conditions.  The  people  of  the  slums  are  too  often  very 
contented.  Self-satisfaction  is  not  the  only  point,  however. 
The  slums  are  the  breeding  places  of  vice,  and  furnish  a 
resort  for  the  disorderly  and  vicious ;  there  should  not  be  in 
our  modern  civilisation  any  place  dedicated  to  such  a  class. 
The  dispersion  of  such  evil-minded  persons  by  official  action  of 
city  governments  is  a  service  in  the  interest  of  the  whole.  It  is 
a  hopeful  sign,  as  shown  by  the  figures  given  above  (§§  68,  69), 
that  the  congested  districts  of  cities  do  not  and  cannot  increase 
in  their  population,  but  the  movement  of  decentralisation  can 
be  accelerated  and  the  slum  population  greatly  reduced  and 
ultimately  removed.  Many  philanthropic  and  benevolent  en- 
terprises are  doing  much  in  the  way  of  reclaiming  people  who 
are  fond  of  the  slums,  and  are  bringing  to  them  some  of  the 
light  and  the  life  which  come  of  better  ways.  College  settle- 
ments, guilds,  and  all  the  instrumentalities  projected  by  modern 
altruism  are  doing  good  work  in  these  directions,  but  an  arbi- 
trary conversion  of  alleys  and  slum  districts  into  broad  business 
avenues  can  accomplish  more  than  all  the  other  instrumentali- 
ties together.  The  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  in  the  slum 
districts  of  great  cities  there  are  residents  of  the  highest  respec- 
tability, people  living  in  their  own  houses,  and  who  for  various 
reasons  remain  in  their  old  places.  Hence  the  statistics  of 
slum  wards  always  show  an  average  condition  differing  some- 


1 44  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§  So 

what  from  that  which  really  belongs  to  those  who  live  there  by 
preference,  and  who  there  find  associates  of  their  own  level. 

81.   Housing  of  the  Poor. 

An  allied  question  next  claims  attention,  —  the  housing  of 
the  poor  and  the  efforts  which  are  made  through  philanthropic 
interest  or  otherwise  to  provide  decent,  respectable  homes.  It 
is  still  a  moot  question  how  far  the  municipal  governments 
should  undertake  to  furnish  houses  for  those  having  occupa- 
tions of  the  lowest  grade.  Nothing  has  been  done  in  this 
direction  as  yet  by  municipal  governments  in  this  country,  but 
the  success  of  the  city  of  London  and  other  cities  in  Great 
Britain  furnishes  strong  argument  for  the  cities  of  America  to 
change  plague-spots  into  profitable  residential  localities.  There 
are,  of  course,  many  difficulties  attending  the  rehousing  of  peo- 
ple, as  shown  in  the  experience  of  Naples.  People  are  wedded 
to  certain  localities,  without  reference  to  their  healthfulness  or 
desirability,  and  dislike  much  to  leave  them.  Temperament, 
association,  inertness,  many  human  elements,  stand  in  the  way 
of  improving  the  housing  of  the  poor. 

London  owns  about  760  tenements,  having  over  2,000 
rooms,  while  Glasgow  has  spent  a  large  sum  of  money  in  the 
treatment  of  the  slum  question,  and  has  transformed  some  of 
the  worst  places  in  that  city  into  attractive  dwellings.  Birming- 
ham, Huddersfield,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  Dublin,  Edinburgh, 
and  many  other  places,  own  dwellings  which  they  rent  at  low 
rates:  in  Birmingham  the  rent  is  $s.  6</.  ($1.34)  per  week  ; 
in  Liverpool  three  rooms  rent  for  5.?.  Cut.  per  week,  the  rate 
being  graded  down  to  smaller  rentals.  Some  of  the  cities  of 
the  United  Kingdom  also  have  control  of  municipal  lodging- 
houses. 

American  cities  1  have  followed  the  example  of  individual 

philanthropists,  notably  that  of  George  Peabody  and  Sir  Sidney 

Waterlow  of  England.     In  the  sixties  Mr.  Peabody  gave  in 

successive  instalments  ^500,000  in  trust  for  the  purpose  of 

1  Eighth  Special  Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour. 


§81]  Housing  of  the  Poor.  145 

improving  the  housing  of  the  working  people  in  London.  Sir 
Sidney  Waterlow's  company,  the  Improved  Industrial  Dwell- 
ings Company  of  London,  opened  its  first  model  tenement  in 
1863.  These  efforts  proved  successful,  and  they  have  been 
followed  in  many  places  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  on  the 
Continent,  a  very  great  amount  of  good  being  accomplished 
through  the  erection  of  model  tenements. 

Such  enterprises  very  naturally  found  patrons  in  America, 
and  they  have  followed  the  English  example.  The  American 
enterprises  have,  as  a  rule,  been  the  results  of  investment  by 
capitalists  who  were  content  with  a  small  dividend.  The 
American  buildings  have  been  an  improvement  in  some  respects 
upon  the  English,  more  attention  having  been  paid  to  securing 
individual  home  tenements.  It  is  a  notable  fact  that  in  such 
experiments,  with  rare  exception,  capital  has  received  a  fair 
return,  while  offering  to  the  man  of  small  means  the  op- 
portunity to  secure  either  a  very  much  better  home  at  the 
ordinary  rate  of  rental,  or  to  find  a  lodging  of  his  u?ual  grade 
at  a  less  cost. 

The  results  of  all  these  enterprises  have  been  so  satisfactory 
that  great  companies  are  constantly  being  organised  for  the 
purpose  of  building  suburban  homes,  with  a  view  to  taking  the 
people  out  of  the  congested  districts  of  cities  and  furnishing 
them  with  respectable,  comfortable  homes,  provided  with  baths 
and  all  the  modern  conveniences  found  in  houses  at  reasonable 
rates,  rapid  transit  making  homes  even  many  miles  out  of  the 
city  accessible  at  no  greater  loss  of  time  in  going  to  and  from 
the  working  place  than  when  the  working-man  lived  in  the  city. 
Oftentimes  there  has  been  a  positive  saving  of  time,  which  has 
added  to  the  real  day  of  the  wage-earner.  These  enterprises, 
however,  have  not  always  been  undertaken  to  aid  the  working- 
man,  but  to  furnish  a  neat  and  attractive  suburban  honte  to 
men  working  on  moderate  salaries. 

American  cities  will  find  it  to  their  advantage  ultimately  to 
take  some  part  in  this  movement,  either  by  aiding  rapid  transit 
or  in  so  controlling  slum  districts  as  to  induce  the  residents 

10 


146  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§8i 

to  move  into  more  sanitary  localities.  Manufacturers  them- 
selves have  done  a  great  deal  in  this  direction  by  moving  their 
plants  outside  the  city  and  taking  with  them  their  employees. 
Where  a  city  has  grown  up  around  a  manufactory  the  pro- 
prietors have  often,  since  the  planting  of  the  factory  system  in 
this  country,  done  much  towards  securing  respectable  home 
surroundings  for  their  people,  as,  for  example,  in  South  Man- 
chester, Conn.  There  have  been  complications  and  diffi- 
culties, for  city  governments  have  not  always  aided,  even  in 
moderate  degree,  the  efforts  of  employers  to  erect  and  pre- 
serve the  homes  of  their  employees ;  but  under  the  enlightened 
education  of  the  people  in  sanitary  methods,  city  governments 
are  doing  more  and  more  by  enforcing  sanitary  regulations  to 
prevent  the  spreading  of  disease.  It  has  long  been  the  legal 
theory  that  government  could  not  step  into  a  private  dwelling 
until  infectious  disease  was  discovered  there  ;  but  of  late  years, 
through  the  power  of  expressed  public  will,  it  is  found  more 
judicious  and  more  economical  to  quarantine  disease  and 
prevent  an  epidemic  through  contagion  than  to  wait  and 
undertake  to  rid  the  community  of  it. 

The  problem  of  the  housing  of  the  people  in  the  receipt  of 
small  incomes  is  in  fair  way  of  solution  through  the  combined 
interests  of  philanthropy  and  capital.  These  efforts  do  not  have 
any  relation  to  charity,  but  to  the  building  of  character  through 
the  self-respect  which  comes  of  living  in  clean  and  well-ordered 
homes.  The  experience  in  the  town  of  Pullman,  near  Chicago, 
offers  excellent  evidence  of  the  influence  which  well-ordered 
homes  have  upon  those  who  are  first  brought  in  contact  with 
them,  or  who  have  never  had  the  pleasure  of  living  in  them 
(see  below,  ch.  xix.).  The  first  effect  is  to  set  the  housewife  to 
putting  her  own  house  to  rights  and  bringing  it  to  the  standard 
of  the  neighbours  who  have  preceded  her.  Clean  streets,  sani- 
tary conditions,  frequent  parks,  a  well-constructed  house,  with 
every  convenience  for  cleanliness  within  it,  furnish  object 
lessons  which  cannot  long  be  ignored.  The  capitalist  who  is 
willing  to  make  an  investment  in  the  building  of  homes  and 


§82]  Rented  Houses.  147 

receive  for  it  a  meagre  dividend,  is,  after  all,  the  true  philan- 
thropist, because  he  puts  his  tenant  on  a  business  basis  and 
at  the  same  time  assures  him  of  his  interest  in  his  welfare. 
But  the  builder  of  model  dwellings  must  have  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  municipality  in  many  ways,  especially  in  all  the 
departments  of  inspection,  paving,  water  supply,  street  clean- 
ing, garbage  works,  and  everything  that  can  and  must  be  done 
for  the  whole  people  through  general  taxation. 

82.  Rented  Houses. 

The  fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  people  in 
cities  live  in  rented  homes  is  often  used  to  prove  that  the 
home  itself  is  degenerating.  It  may  be  proved,  perhaps,  that 
the  reverse  is  the  truth,  and  the  fact  that  families  csn  now 
hire  neat  and  commodious  tenements  at  reasonable  prices 
indicates  better  conditions  than  formerly  existed.  To  own 
one's  home  is  well ;  but  if  by  owning  it  one  is  compelled  to 
live  in  insanitary  surroundings  or  to  feel  tied  to  a  locality 
when  business  would  demand  a  removal,  thus  entailing  a  loss, 
another  side  of  the  question  is  brought  out.  Where  dwellings 
are  erected  by  one  capitalist  in  such  numbers  as  to  warrant 
the  best  at  the  lowest  cost,  the  family  may  be  quite  as  well 
off,  so  far  as  home  life  is  concerned,  and  perhaps  far  better 
off,  in  a  rented  house  than  in  one  which  it  owns.  At  least 
a  large  percentage  of  the  families  in  cities  live  in  rented 
tenements.  The  statistics  show  that  of  the  16,006,437  private 
families  in  1900,  4,739,914  owned  their  homes  free  of  encum- 
brance. The  homes  of  2,180,229  vvere  encumbered.  It  was 
unknown  whether  the  balance  of  owned  homes  were  encum- 
bered or  not,  the  total  number  of  families  owning  homes,  both 
free  and  encumbered,  being  7,218,755.  The  number  of  fam- 
ilies hiring  homes  was  8,246,747.  Of  the  total  number  of  fam- 
ilies owning  their  homes,  both  free  and  encumbered,  there  were 
372,444  negro  families,  out  of  a  total  number  of  1,832,818 
negro  families  in  the  country.  About  one-half  of  the  native 
white  families,  about  one-fifth  of  the  negro  families,  and  a  little 
less  than  half  the  foreign  white  families  owned  their  homes. 


148  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§  82 

In  1900  there  were  722,670  private  families  in  Greater  New 
York;  of  these,  637,501  occupied  rented  homes,  only  75,169 
families  living  in  their  own  homes.  In  Brooklyn  borough  (in- 
cluded in  statement  for  Greater  New  York)  there  were  252,519 
families;  of  these  207,559  occupied  hired  homes,  and  44,960 
lived  in  their  own  houses.  Philadelphia,  which  has  been 
called  the  city  of  homes,  had  263,093  families,  207,565  of 
which  lived  in  rented  homes,  and  55,528  in  their  own  homes. 
Boston  had  114,705  families,  with  94,009  living  in  rented 
houses,  and  20,696  in  their  own  homes.  In  Chicago  there 
were  354,036  families;  of  these,  267,601  lived  in  rented 
homes,  and  86,435  in  owned  homes,  the  proportion  of  families 
living  in  their  own  homes  being  greater  than  in  Philadelphia. 
Baltimore  had  a  very  large  proportion  of  families  living  in  their 
own  homes,  for  out  of  104,146  families,  77,157  lived  in  rented 
homes,  and  26,989  in  their  own  homes.  Here,  again,  the 
proportion  is  larger  than  in  Philadelphia. 

83.  Public  Batha. 

Another  European  experience  is  being  followed  in  American 
cities,  —  that  of  maintaining  public  bathing  establishments. 
For  many  years  free  baths  have  been  maintained  during  the 
summer  months,  but  only  recently  have  appropriations  been 
made  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  permanent  public 
bath-houses.  European  cities  have  for  some  years  pursued 
the  policy  of  erecting  and  sustaining  municipal  baths,  Liver- 
pool claiming  the  credit  of  being  the  first  large  city  to  es- 
tablish at  public  expense  a  bath-house  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people.  As  far  back  as  1 794  the  corporation  of  Liverpool 
purchased  a  private  swimming-bath  establishment,  at  a  cost 
of  ^4,000,  which  was  used  until  1820,  when  it  was  re- 
moved to  make  way  for  a  dock.  In  1828  St.  George's  Baths, 
so-called,  were  erected  by  the  corporation  at  a  cost  of  about 
^25,000;  this  establishment  is  still  in  use.  Glasgow,  Man- 
chester, London,  Berlin,  Vienna,  and  Budapest  have  furnished 


§84]  Baths  and  Markets.  149 

America  with  abundant  experience  as  to  the  best  methods  of 
locating,  planning,  and  maintaining  baths  for  the  people ;  and 
on  account  of  the  benefits  which  have  resulted  from  the  es- 
tablishment of  municipal  baths,  New  York,  Chicago,  Boston, 
Buffalo,  and  Brookline,  Mass.,  have  made  appropriations  for 
the  erection  of  public  bath-houses.  Some  of  them  are  finished 
and  in  use.  In  all  probability  this  beneficent  policy  will 
become  popular  and  general  in  crowded  cities. 

As  people  live  in  modern  well-built  dwellings,  and  at  rentals 
no  higher  than  are  charged  for  uncomfortable  and  inconvenient 
tenements,  they  become  imbued  with  the  necessity  of  what 
was  at  first  considered  a  luxury.  In  this  way  the  model  dwell- 
ing movement  has  furnished  the  inspiration  for  the  municipal 
bath,  and  the  free  bath  and  its  consequent  benefits  are  being 
extended  to  schools  and  manufacturing  establishments.  The 
employers  of  labour  on  a  large  scale  have  for  many  years,  and 
in  various  places,  seen  the  good  results  of  establishing  com- 
modious bath-houses  in  connection  with  their  works.  Inven- 
tion here  finds  a  field  in  providing  methods  for  supplying  tubs 
and  showers  of  hot  water  quickly,  for  the  installation  of  cleans- 
ing baths  for  workmen  in  mines,  factories,  foundries,  etc.,  and 
under  various  circumstances  secures  economic  methods  of  bath- 
ing. The  idea  of  charity  does  not  enter  into  this  matter  any 
more  than  into  the  other  methods  which  municipalities  have 
adopted  for  securing  and  maintaining  sanitary  conditions 
everywhere.  The  health  of  the  town  should  command  the 
earnest  attention  of  municipal  governments.  The  municipal 
bath  does  not  pauperise  the  users  thereof,  and  clean  water 
does  not  degrade  ;  a  small  charge  is  usually  made  to  users  of 
this  necessary  luxury. 

84.   Market   Systems  in   Relation  to   Cost   of  Living. 

That  a  city  government  should  exercise  its  authority,  cer- 
tainly its  influence,  over  the  location  and  management  of 
markets  is  becoming  a  most  important  question  in  city  ad- 
ministration. In  some  cities  in  Europe,  especially  Berlin,  great 


150  Problems  of  City  Life.  [§84 

markets  are  located  in  different  parts  of  the  city  in  such  a  way 
that  belt  lines  of  railway  can  bring  food  products  directly  to 
them.  In  this  way  the  inhabitants  are  enabled  to  secure  their 
supplies  without  many  handlings,  and  thus  at  the  lowest  cost. 
In  this  country  the  great  markets  in  our  large  cities  send  out 
the  necessary  supplies  from  their  central  buildings  to  jobbers 
and  retailers  in  different  parts  of  the  city.  They  must  be 
taken  from  the  railroad  to  the  central  market-house,  and 
thence  to  the  places  of  distribution,  such  as  branch  markets, 
retail  shops,  etc.,  from  which  they  are  distributed  to  the  pur- 
chasers. This  involves  several  handlings  of  the  goods,  and 
necessarily  increases  the  cost  to  the  consumer.  In  a  few 
American  cities,  even  of  some  size,  an  attempt  is  made  to  re- 
move these  difficulties,  as,  for  example,  in  Cleveland  the  farmers 
carry  their  products  directly  to  the  market-house,  and  there 
sell  them  to  the  consumer,  with  no  middleman's  profit ;  and 
branch  markets,  open  different  days  in  the  week,  enable  the 
marketmen  to  serve  various  sections  of  the  city  ;  but  no  Ameri- 
can city  has  a  system  equal  to  that  of  some  foreign  cities. 

Looking  over  all  the  problems  which  accompany  city  life, 
or  which  arise  out  of  the  necessities  of  dense  populations,  the 
conclusion  must  be  reached  that  the  man  of  ordinary  means 
can  secure  the  greatest  possible  return  for  a  very  small  outlay 
of  money ;  in  fact,  there  never  was  a  time  in  the  history  of 
the  world  when  the  people  of  cities  could  secure  so  much  for 
so  little  as  at  the  present  time.  And  all  this  is  not  at  the 
expense  of  the  self-respect  of  the  citizen  ;  he  is  elevated  and 
taught  to  think  more  of  himself  because  he  is  a  citizen  of 
a  municipality  which  cares  for  his  welfare.  At  all  events,  he 
should  understand  that  under  all  bad  governments  there  is 
to  be  found  a  higher  death  rate  ;  that  sickness  is  a  charge  on 
the  community  as  well  as  on  the  individual ;  and  that  good 
and  wholesome  rule  in  the  municipality  has  an  influence  on 
the  lives  of  the  poor  especially  that  is  all-pervading,  for  it 
touches  every  phase  of  their  being  :  they  are  the  very  first 
to  suffer  from  the  effects  of  bad  government. 


Part  IV. 

Questions  of  the  Family. 


CHAPTER   X. 
MARRIAGE   AND    DIVORCE. 

85.     References. 

United  States,  Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population,  Part  II.  (chapter 
on  conjugal  condition)  ;  Joel  Prentiss  Bishop,  Commentaries  on  the  Law  of 
Marriage  and  Divorce  ;  Richmond  Mayo-Smith,  Statistics  ami  Sociology  ; 
Charles  F.  Thwing,  The  Family  :  An  Historical  and  Social  Study  ;  Edward 
Westermarck,  History  of  Human  Marriage  ;  C.  N.  Starcke.  The  Primitive 
Family  ;  Ch.  Letourneau,  The  Evolution  of  Marriage  ;  U.  S.  Commissioner 
of  Labour,  Report  on  Marriageand  Divorce,  especially  on  Statistics  of  Di- 
vorce (§93),  and  Legal  Causes  of  Divorce  (§  94)  ;  F.  G.  Cook,  The  Mar- 
riage Celebration  in  Europe,  The  Marriage  Celebration  in  the  Colonies, 
and  The  Marriage  Celebration  in  the  United  States,  all  in  Atlantic 
Monthly,  LXI.  245,  350,  520  respectively  (Feb.-Apr.,  1888)  ;  Samuel  W. 
Dike,  Reports  of  National  Divorce  Reform  League  (now  National  League 
for  the  Protection  of  the  Family),  Sociological  Notes  in  Andover  Review, 
YL.\.  427  (Apr.,  1889),  Uniform  Laws  of  Marriage  and  Divorce  in  Arena, 
II.  399  (Sept.,  1890),  and  Statistics  of  Marriage  and  Divorce  in  Political 
Science  Quarterly,  IV.  592  (Dec.,  1889);  T.  D.  Woolsey,  Divorce  and 
Divorce  Legislation;  Lester  F.  Ward,  Dynamic  Sociology,  I.  130,  604, 
677;  Franklin  H.  Giddings,  Principles  of  Sociology,  ch.  iv.  349;  John 
Alexander  Gemmill,  Parliamentary  Divorce  (a  work  in  which  will  be 
found  a  valuable  account  of  the  origin  and  history  of  parliamentary 
divorce  in  England,  in  addition  to  accounts  of  divorce  in  Canada). 

86.     The  Married  and  the  Single. 

The  most  important  topic  relative  to  the  family  is  that  of 
marriage  and  divorce  ;  for  the  integrity  of  society  rests  upon 
the  integrity  of  the  family,  which  is  the  social  unit  and  the 
keystone  of  society.  The  basis  of  the  whole  question  is  a 


\-  y. 


152  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§86 

study  of  the  actual  conditions  as  they  now  exist  in  the  United 
States. 

All  questions  affecting  labour,  and  many  which  concern  the 
moral  condition  of  the  country,  must  take  account  of  the  pro- 
portions of  married  and  unmarried  persons.  This  Interesting 
sociological  study  forms  a  considerable  part  of  the  census  re- 
ports of  European  countries,  usually  under  the  designation  of 
"civil  condition."  In  1890  trustworthy  statistics  relating  to 
the  single,  married,  widowed,  and  divorced  in  the  United 
States  were  collected,  and  we  then  had,  for  the  first  time  in 
this  country,  complete  data  of  the  conjugal  condition  of  the 
whole  population,  properly  classified  as  to  sex,  colour,  general 
nativity,  and  ages. 

In  the  United  States  there  is  a  wide-spread  belief  that  mar- 
riages are  relatively  less  frequent  than  they  used  to  be,  and  less 
numerous  than  in  other  countries.  The  unyielding  statistics 
show  that  impression  to  be  unfounded.  Out  of  the  mainland 
population  of  1900  (75,994,575),  33,681,074  were  under  20 
years  of  age,  and  nearly  all  of  them  must  be,  and  for  our  purpose 
all  of  them  will  be,  excluded  from  the  calculation.  Out  of  every 
100  adults  in  the  United  States  in  1900,  about  a  fourth  were 
single,  about  two-thirds  were  married,  and  less  than  one-tenth 
widowed.  Of  the  men,  31  were  single,  64  married,  and  5  wid- 
owed, out  of  every  100.  Of  the  women,  20  were  single,  66  mar- 
ried, and  13  widowed,  out  of  every  100.  In  other  words,  the 
likelihood  that  a  given  man  will  be  married  if  he  lives  to  be 
twenty  is  about  two  to  one  ;  that  a  given  woman  will  be  married 
is  about  four  to  one.  If  the  distinctly  unhealthy  and  deformed 
are  left  out  of  account,  the  proportions  will  be  still  larger. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  average  likelihood  of  marriage  is 
diminished  by  the  remarriages.  Out  of  every  100  widowed 
persons,  there  were  but  30  males  as  against  70  females;  and 
out  of  every  100  divorced  persons  not  remarried,  the  males 
numbered  but  43,  whereas  the  females  numbered  57  ;  that  is, 
men  are  more  likely  than  women  to  marry  again. 

These  results  may  be  compared  with  data  for  certain  foreign 


x~  £ 

S  O 

go 

<£  UJ 

LLJ  O 

•*  I 

>-  O 


5 

z  en 

0  ^ 

O  O 


O 


? 


§  86] 


Married  and  Single. 


countries,1  showing  conditions  practically  similar  to  those  ex- 
isting in  the  United  States. 

Although  there  are  two  partners  to  every  marriage,  the  excess 
of  married  males  over  married  females  among  the  adult  popu- 
lation in  the  United  States  in  1900  was,  in  round  numbers, 
523,000,  very  nearly  four  times  the  excess  of  married  males 
when  the  whole  married  population  without  regard  to  age  is  con- 
sidered. This  excess,  which  at  first  glance  seems  paradoxical, 
can  be  readily  accounted  for ;  the  great  bulk  of  immigration 
which  has  come  to  this  country  in  recent  years  has  been  com- 
posed largely  of  adult  males  (probably  three-fifths  of  the  whole 
number),  a  large  part  of  whom  are  married,  but  who  are  not,  as 
a  rule,  joined  by  their  families  until  they  become  established  in 
some  fixed  occupation.  Since  they  come  principally  from  the 
ranks  of  unskilled  labour,  their  securing  permanent  employ- 
ment is  problematical,  and  they  are  unable  or  they  hesitate  to 
send  for  their  families. 

The  steady  stream  of  emigration  from  the  East  to  the  West 
has  naturally  taken  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  male  pop- 
ulation from  the  older  States  of  the  Atlantic  divisions,  leaving 
in  those  divisions  an  excess  of  females  in  nearly  every  State. 
This  emigration  of  males  to  the  more  westerly  States,  aided 
largely  by  foreign  immigration,  three-fifths  of  which,  as  stated, 

1  PER  CENT  OF  PERSONS  TWENTY  YEARS  OF  AGE  AND  OVER,  IN  1890, 
OF  EACH  CONJUGAL  CONDITION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND 
FOREIGN  COUNTRIES. 


Number  in  each 

Number  in  each 

Number  in  each 

100  adults. 

100  adult  males. 

joo  adult  females. 

Countries. 

•a 

•a 

T3 

T3 

•a 

"5 

C 

o 
•a 

"bio 

a 

O 

•a 

JU 

M 

'fc 

0 

•o 

c 

C 

^ 

;^ 

c/> 

<£, 

^ 

ir> 

^ 

C/2 

* 

* 

United  States      .     . 

26 

65 

9 

3' 

64 

5 

20 

67 

>3 

England  and  Wales 

29 

61 

o 

29 

65 

6 

28 

58 

M 

Scotland     .... 

34 

55 

, 

35 

59 

6 

35 

5' 

M 

2 

46 

17 

Austria-Hungary     . 
Belgium      .... 

3' 
35 

59 
55 

0 
O 

33 
37 

62 
56 

5 
7 

28 
32 

58 
55 

14 
13 

'54 


Marriage  and  Divorce. 


[§86 


is  made  up  of  males,  has  given  to  the  West  Central  and  extreme 
Western  States  an  undue  proportion  of  males  as  compared  with 
females. 

87.     Marriages  compared  by  Races. 

In  the  United  States,  as  in  other  countries,  there  are  differ- 
ences in  the  marriage  rates  of  various  social  classes  in  the 
community,  but  in  this  country  that  difference  is  rather  in 
favour  of  the  lowest  elements.  Classification  by  general  nativ- 
ity and  colour  is  in  a  measure  a  classification  by  station  in  life. 
The  native  whites  of  native  parentage,  taken  as  a  whole,  form 
the  highest  class  in  the  community,  as  indicated  by  education, 
occupation,  and  freedom  from  criminality  and  pauperism.  The 
native  whites  of  foreign  parentage  occupy  a  middle  position 
in  this  regard,  while  the  foreign  whites  in  the  North  and  the 
negroes  in  the  South  occupy  the  lowest  position  in  the  scale. 
From  the  statistics1  it  appears  that  among  the  native  white 
population  of  native  parentage  two-thirds  are  now  married  ; 
the  proportion  in  the  foreign  white  population  is  practically  the 
same,  and  also  among  the  negro  population,  save  that  in  the 
latter  case  there  are  fewer  single  persons  and  more  widows  and 
widowers. 

The  native  whites  of  foreign  parentage  show  a  striking  diver- 
gence, for  which  it  is  hard  to  account.  Instead  of  a  proportion 
of  one-fourth  of  single  persons,  more  than  two-fifths  are  single, 

1  PER  CENT  OF   PERSONS  TWENTY  YEARS   OF   AGE  AND   OVER   OF   EACH 
CONJUGAL  CONDITION,  BY  GENERAL  NATIVITY  AND  COLOUR. 


Number  in  each 

Number  in  each 

Number  in  each 

General  Nativity 
and  Colour. 

loo  adults. 

100  adult  males. 

100  adult  females. 

"1 

•d 
u 
'C 

« 

'idowed. 

"M 
c 

•73 
rt 

•d 

£ 

o 
•5 

"3 

•d 

•p 

u 

"H 

w 

* 

? 

to 

3 

* 

33 

S 

> 

Native  Whites  —  Na- 

tive Parents      .     . 
Native  Whites  —  For 

24 

66 

9 

28 

66 

5 

'9 

67 

13 

eign  Parents     .     . 
Foreign  Whites 
Negroes     .... 

38 

21 
22 

57 
67 
64 

5 
13 

44 
26 
26 

53 
67 
66 

3 
6 
7 

32 
'4 

'7 

61 
68 
63 

7 
'7 
'9 

25 

65 

9 

30 

64 

5 

21 

65 

'3 

§88]  Races  —  Contract  Theory.  155 

and  few  are  among  the  widows  and  widowers.  This  indispo- 
sition to  marry  is  one  of  the  several  anomalies  which  make  the 
habits  of  the  descendants  of  foreigners  an  important  problem 
in  the  future  status  of  the  country. 

88.  The  Contract  Theory  of  Marriage. 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  for  the  well-being  of 
the  community  is  the  conception  of  the  legal  relations  of  the 
status  of  marriage.  Many  of  the  States  and  Territories  have 
incorporated  definitions  of  marriage  into  their  statutes.  About 
one-half  the  States  conform  to  the  usual  and  long-accepted 
doctrine  that  marriage  is  a  civil  contract ;  others,  with  perhaps 
greater  accuracy,  set  forth  that  marriage  is  not  in  itself  a  con- 
tract, but  a  status  acquired  by  the  parties  thereto  by  virtue  of 
the  contract,  to  which  the  consent  of  parties  capable  of  mak- 
ing the  contract  is  essential.  In  either  case  the  contract  must 
be  an  actual  one  ;  the  consent  must  be  by  parties  capable  of 
making  it ;  and  there  must  be  no  fraud  on  either  side. 

But  the  contract  is  not  an  ordinary  one,  such  as  can  be 
annulled  by  agreement  of  the  parties,  so  long  as  no  one  is  in- 
jured by  the  annulment.  In  a  marriage  contract  the  State 
enters  in  and  is  concerned  in  it,  lending  to  it  a  higher  sacred- 
ness  than  that  which  belongs  to  ordinary  legal  contracts.  The 
distinction  is  clearly  set  forth  by  Bishop,  one  of  the  ablest 
writers  upon  divorce  :  "That  marriage  executed  is  not  a  con- 
tract, we  know,  because  the  parties  cannot  mutually  dissolve 
it;  because  the  act  of  God  incapacitating  one  to  discharge  its 
duties  will  not  release  it ;  because  no  accepted  performance 
will  end  it ;  because  no  suit  for  damage  will  lie  for  the  non- 
fulfilment  of  its  duties  ;  because  these  duties  are  not  derived 
from  its  terms,  but  from  the  law  ;  because  legislation  may 
annul  it  at  pleasure,  and  because  none  of  its  other  elements  are 
those  of  contract,  but  are  all  of  status." 

The  contract  making  marriage  or  underlying  marriage  can- 
not be  made  at  all  except  by  legal  sanction,  and  in  accordance 
with  legal  conditions,  and  the  tendency  is  to  alter  those  con- 


156  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§88 

ditions  as  time  goes  on.  Westermarck,  in  his  "  History  of 
Human  Marriage,"  points  out  that  these  conditions  have  shown 
an  evolution  in  various  ways  :  — 

"  The  dominant  tendency  of  this  process  at  its  later  stages 
has  been  the  extension  of  the  wife's  rights.  A  wife  is  no  longer 
the  husband's  property ;  and,  according  to  modern  ideas,  mar- 
riage is,  or  should  be,  a  contract  on  the  footing  of  perfect  equal- 
ity between  the  sexes.  The  history  of  human  marriage  is,"  he 
says,  "the  history  of  a  relation  in  which  women  have  been 
gradually  triumphing  over  the  passions,  the  prejudices,  and  the 
selfish  interests  of  men." 

Marriage  is  generally  encouraged  by  law,  especially  with  a 
view  to  putting  an  end  to  unhallowed  relations  between  men  and 
women ;  hence  in  many  States  it  is  provided  that  marriage 
between  the  parents  of  illegitimate  children  shall  legitimatise 
such  children  :  or  that,  in  cases  of  seduction,  there  shall  be 
suspension  of  prosecution  or  penalty  upon  the  marriage  of  the 
parties.  The  suggestion  has  often  been  made,  sometimes  seri- 
ously, that  a  special  tax  be  laid  on  unmarried  men,  the  argu- 
ment being  that  as  a  result  of  such  tax  the  marriage  rate  would 
be  increased. 

89.   Solemnisation  of  Marriage. 

In  general,  marriage  must  be  attested  by  a  distinct  ceremony, 
which  shall  be  a  matter  of  record.  Among  other  things,  the 
record  must  set  forth  the  competence  of  the  persons  to  enter 
into  the  relation.  Under  the  common  law  in  Scotland,  and  to 
some  extent  in  this  country,  the  simple  assertion  of  persons 
before  witnesses  that  they  are  married,  or  their  living  together 
as  man  and  wife  with  no  explanation  to  the  contrary,  consti- 
tutes a  legal  and  binding  marriage. 

In  a  majority  of  the  States  and  Territories  the  laws  fix  the 
ages  at  which  the  parties  are  capable  of  marrying  or  making  a 
marriage  contract,  and  also  establish  the  ages  below  which  the 
consent  of  parents,  guardians,  or  other  persons  having  control 
of  the  parties  is  required. 


§8pJ  Solemnisation.  157 

Laws  exist  usually  as  to  the  degrees  of  consanguinity  or 
relationship  within  which  marriages  are  forbidden.  They  also 
define  the  causes  for  which  marriages  are  prohibited,  or  which 
render  them  invalid,  or  which  are  sufficient  to  render  them 
void  from  the  beginning  without  legal  process,  while  in  some 
of  the  States  it  is  provided  that  such  causes  only  constitute  the 
grounds  for  judicial  proceedings  to  have  the  marriage  set  aside 
or  to  make  the  marriage  voidable.  Again,  causes  which  in 
some  States  render  a  marriage  void  or  voidable,  in  others 
simply  constitute  grounds  for  divorce  ;  and,  indeed,  in  some 
States  the  same  cause  which  renders  a  marriage  void  is  also 
ground  for  divorce,  if  that  remedy  be  sought. 

Most  of  the  States  require  a  license  to  be  procured  by  the 
parties  prior  to  the  solemnisation  of  marriage,  and  the  facts 
declared  at  the  time  of  the  issuance  of  the  license  remain  a 
matter  of  record.  The  statutes  of  all  States  and  Territories, 
except  Pennsylvania  and  South  Carolina,  expressly  define  the 
classes  of  persons  authorised  to  solemnise  marriages.  These 
are,  first,  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  of  any  regular  denomination  ; 
and,  secondly,  magistrates,  or  judges,  mayors,  police  justices, 
and  justices  of  the  peace.  In  France,  and  in  some  other 
countries,  there  are  usually  two  ceremonies,  the  religious  and 
the  civil,  the  latter  being  obligatory  in  all  cases.  In  the 
United  States  the  greater  part  of  the  marriages  are  solemnised 
by  clergymen,  and  in  nearly  all  the  States  and  Territories  the 
person  or  society  solemnising  a  marriage  is  required  to  make  a 
written  return  or  certificate  thereof  to  some  official  authorised 
to  receive  it,  and,  except  in  New  Jersey,  that  official  is  required 
to  record  the  return.  In  sixteen  of  the  States  and  Territories 
every  person  solemnising  a  marriage  is  required  to  keep  a 
permanent  record.  In  a  few  States  provision  is  made  for  the 
return  of  marriages  celebrated  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State. 

Many  of  the  States  provide  for  the  State  registration  of  mar- 
riages, usually  under  the  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  the  State 
Board  of  Health,  the  registrar  of  vital  statistics,  or  the  Secretary 
of  State.  But  since  publication  of  authentic  registration  of 


158  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§8o 

marriages  is  unusual,  the  statistics  of  marriages  are  very  incom- 
plete. There  is  either  no  penalty  affixed  for  not  making  a 
return,  or  the  penalty  is  not  enforced ;  so  that  there  is  a  large 
percentage  of  error  in  nearly  all  the  official  statistics  of  mar- 
riage. The  twenty-one  States  which  provide  for  returns  to 
some  State  officer  do  not  in  general  ask  for  sufficient  facts 
relative  to  the  persons  married  ;  the  facts  that  are  given  are 
not  identical  in  the  various  States ;  and  they  are  compiled  so 
carelessly  as  to  be  nearly  worthless.  In  addition  to  age, 
parentage,  birthplace,  nationality,  and  race,  there  should 
be  added  information  as  to  whether  the  parties  have  been 
divorced  or  not,  and  their  occupation  ;  thus  information  of  the 
highest  value  in  the  discussion  of  marriage  and  divorce  would 
soon  be  accumulated  and  the  question  relieved  of  some  of 
its  present  uncertainties.  Even  in  some  of  the  older  States, 
where  registration  has  been  made  for  years,  one-tenth  of  the 
marriages  celebrated  do  not  reach  the  recorders,  and  the  con- 
clusions that  are  sometimes  drawn  from  such  statistics  cannot 
be  trusted.  For  instance,  it  is  nearly  impossible  to  determine 
whether  marriages  in  general  increase  in  the  same  ratio  as 
population  increases,  though  in  some  of  the  States  with  rea- 
sonably accurate  returns  the  marriage  rate  seems  not  to  keep 
pace  with  the  population  rate. 

Those  who  study  the  divorce  question  must,  before  suggest- 
ing any  changes  in  divorce  laws,  carefully  consider  the  marriage 
laws,  and  they  will  find  that  laxity  in  the  enforcement  of  such 
laws  is  one  of  the  forces  which  have  caused  the  great  divorce 
movement  of  the  past  third  of  a  century.  There  should  be 
thrown  around  marriage  all  the  dignity  which  comes  from 
reasonable  formality,  publicity,  and  such  permanent  records  at 
least  as  are  given  to  wills,  transfers  of  land,  and  mortgages  of 
property.  If  parties  can  secure  a  license  without  trouble,  and 
find  no  difficulty  in  finding  an  official  authorised  by  law  tc 
solemnise  the  marriage,  it  is  not  strange  that  many  marriaga 
contracts  are  carelessly  assumed.  There  should  be  formality 
enough  to  compel  thought  and  some  consideration  in  tha 


§9°]  Annulment.  159 

matter,  even  to  the  extent,  perhaps,  of  requiring  the  presence 
of  the  recording  officer  in  order  to  make  a  marriage  valid. 
The  laxity  of  licenses  and  registration  may  not,  perhaps,  be  a 
cause  of  the  divorce  movement,  but  it  is  probable  that  a  strict 
enforcement  of  such  laws  would  be  a  cause  of  diminution  of 
divorce ;  for  it  would  compel  parties  to  consider  that  their  act 
is  a  matter  of  public  concern  as  well  as  of  private  welfare,  hap- 
piness, or  misery.  Even  the  most  intelligent  people  often  make 
unsuitable  marriages,  and  sometimes  take  upon  themselves  the 
marriage  vow  without  a  conscientious  understanding  of  the 
great  responsibility  which  rests  upon  each  to  see  to  it  that 
the  marriage  be  not  a  failure.  How  essential  it  is  that  more 
ignorant  and  less  thoughtful  people,  who  do  not  understand 
the  obligations  resting  upon  each,  the  sacrifices  essential  to 
happiness,  the  difficulty  of  accommodating  varied  tempera- 
ments, should  be  surrounded  by  all  the  reasonable  safeguards 
that  law  can  contrive  ;  how  grave  becomes  the  action  when  the 
obligations  are  carelessly  assumed,  and  how  incumbent  upon 
those  who  make  our  laws  to  see  to  it  that  such  elements  of 
care  as  can  be  required  by  a  statutory  provision  shall  be 
recognised  ! 

90.   The  Annulment  of  Marriage. 

Besides  the  actual  setting  aside  of  a  marriage  legally  con- 
tracted, to  which  we  give  the  name  of  legal  divorce,  there  are 
various  ways  by  which  such  unions  cease  to  have  effect.  Of 
course,  a  pre-existing  marriage  of  either  party  makes  the  cere- 
mony absolutely  null ;  the  guilty  one  incurs  the  penalties  of 
bigamy  ;  the  guiltless  is  often  a  prey  to  the  most  cruel  and  un- 
deserved suffering.  Death  loosens  all  bonds,  and  presumptive 
death  or  desertion  by  absence  without  tidings  for  a  period 
of  years  defined  by  law,  usually  from  two  to  seven,  will  de- 
prive the  absent  one  of  all  rights  in  case  the  other  party 
marries  again.  The  story  of  Enoch  Arden  is  not  infrequently 
repeated. 

The  amusement  known  as  "  mock  marriages "  sometimes 
leads  to  most  distressing  consequences.  There  are  cases  on 


160  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§90 

record  where  such  play  ceremonies  have  been  held  to  have 
fulfilled  all  the  legal  conditions,  and  a  subsequent  marriage 
becomes  bigamy.  In  such  cases  courts  will  usually  pronounce 
the  marriage  invalid  from  the  beginning. 

In  some  States  the  conviction  of  one  party  for  an  infamous 
crime  relieves  the  wife  or  husband  from  marriage,  without 
divorce  proceedings.  Other  causes  of  annulment  are  where 
either  party  is  incapable  of  marriage  from  want  of  age  or 
understanding,  or  from  physical  disability,  where  the  consent 
of  either  party  was  obtained  by  force  or  fraud,  where  either 
party  was  an  idiot  or  a  lunatic,  or  where  either  party  had  a 
former  husband  or  wife  living  at  the  time  of  the  marriage. 
Whatever  the  process  of  annulment,  it  sets  aside  the  contract 
of  marriage  as  one  never  made  at  all,  and  it  covers  the  whole 
period  of  alleged  married  life. 

91.   Divorce. 

The  ordinary  method  of  dissolving  marriage  is  by  judicial 
decree  of  divorce ;  that  is,  by  the  dissolution  or  the  partial 
suspension  of  the  marriage  relationship  through  legal  processes. 
When  marriage  is  dissolved  by  divorce,  and  the  parties  are  put 
back  in  the  position  of  single  persons,  the  divorce  is  termed 
"absolute,"  or,  as  law  designates  it,  "divorce  a  vinculo  matri- 
inonii"  —  from  the  bonds  of  matrimony.  When  marriage  is 
only  partially  suspended  by  divorce  and  the  parties  are  sepa- 
rated, but  still  retain  the  legal  status  of  married  persons,  the 
divorce  is  termed  "limited,"  or  "divorce  a  mensa  et  thoro" 
that  is,  from  bed  and  board. 

Such  legal  dissolution  is  possible  by  special  act  of  the 
legislature,  by  judicial  decree,  or  by  the  automatic  operation 
of  law.  A  legislative  divorce  is  simply  a  bill  regularly  passed 
like  any  special  act.  The  only  states  in  which  it  once 
prevailed  have  generally  delegated  divorce  jurisdiction  to 
the  courts.  South  Carolina  grants  no  divorce.  The  second 
and  usual  method  is  the  judicial  divorce,  which  is  granted 
by  courts  having  the  jurisdiction  given  them  by  law. 


§  91]  Divorce.  i6i 

The  conditions  of  divorce  are  very  different  in  various  States, 
but  in  all,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  there  is  provision  rela- 
tive to  the  length  of  time  of  residence  of  one  or  both  of  the 
parties  to  an  action  for  divorce,  and  in  the  laws  giving  juris- 
diction in  divorce  cases  to  the  courts  are  provisions  as  to  pro- 
cedure and  the  causes  for  absolute  or  limited  divorce  and  the 
results  of  divorce. 

The  laws  relating  to  causes  and  other  matters,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  those  of  a  very  few  States,  chief  among  which  is  New 
York,  which  grants  absolute  divorce  for  scriptural  cause  only, 
are  more  uniform  than  is  generally  supposed.  Among  forty- 
two  general  causes  for  absolute  divorce  found  in  one  or  another 
State,  are  comprehended  such  causes  as  desertion,  cruelty,  and 
the  like,  while  in  a  very  few  cases  there  is  an  omnibus  clause 
allowing  the  court  to  grant  a  divorce  for  any  cause  deemed 
sufficient  by  it,  and  when  it  shall  be  satisfied  that  the  parties 
can  no  longer  live  happily  together. 

Some  very  curious  and  amusing  causes  have  been  alleged, 
and  divorces  have  been  granted  on  the-m,  especially  to  the 
wife.  Among  these  are  the  complaints  that  the  husband 
does  not  come  home  until  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  that  when 
he  does  return  he  keeps  the  petitioner  awake  talking.  An- 
other plaintiff  alleges  that  the  husband  does  not  wash  himself, 
thereby  inflicting  on  plaintiff  great  mental  anguish ;  another 
declares  that  the  husband  sleeps  with  a  razor  under  his  pillow, 
solely  to  frighten  and  distress  the  plaintiff.  In  one  case  it 
was  declared  that  the  defendant  made  the  plaintiff  climb  a 
ladder  to  drive  nails  in  the  woodshed,  and  not  liking  the  way 
she  drove  the  nails,  he  lassoed  her  on  coming  down  from  the 
ladder,  tied  her  fast  to  the  gate-post,  and  then  stuck  sticks 
and  straws  in  her  nose  and  ears,  and  committed  other  per- 
sonal outrages.  These  trivialities  indicate  the  danger  of  what 
is  called  the  "omnibus  clause  "  of  causes  for  divorce. 

Whatever  the  legal  provision,  the  frequency  of  divorce  is 
much  affected  by  the  views  relative  to  the  propriety  and 
rightfulness  of  divorce  entertained  by  theologians  and  re- 
ligious bodies.  These  views  may  be  classified  according  to 


1 62  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§91 

church  and  denominational  doctrines  under  five  heads,  as 
follows l :  — 

First.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  High  Church  Episco- 
palians, and  some  others  in  other  churches,  deny  the  right  of 
absolute  divorce,  insisting  that  neither  husband  nor  wife  should 
be  able  to  secure  it  even  for  the  infidelity  of  the  other. 

Second.  In  English  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  in  English  civil 
law  the  infidelity  of  the  wife  only  is  the  ground  of  divorce ; 
many  American  Episcopalians  also  agree  with  this  view. 

Third.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  America  holds 
to  the  right  of  absolute  divorce  for  the  infidelity  of  either 
party,  and  this  church,  as  well  as  the  bodies  referred  to  in  the 
first  and  second  classes,  also  holds  to  separation  a  mensa  et 
thoro  for  sufficient  cause.  Congregationalists,  Baptists,  Uni- 
tarians, etc.,  have  no  authoritative  legislative  ecclesiastical 
bodies  and  therefore  cannot  be  classed  by  their  creedal  utter- 
ances ;  but  probably  most  Congregationalists  and  nearly  all 
Baptists  hold  to  this  position.  A  large  and,  it  may  be,  grow- 
ing number  of  Congregationalists  and  others  tend  toward  even 
a  more  liberal  view. 

Fourth.  The  great  Presbyterian  body  (excepting  the  United 
Presbyterians  and  perhaps  the  smaller  divisions)  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  allow  divorce  for  infidelity,  and 
for  desertion  also,  but  rigidly  draw  the  line  at  the  latter. 

Fifth.  The  Greek  and  Lutheran  Church,  and  frequently 
individual  writers  and  exegetical  scholars,  favour  divorce  for 
an  indefinite  number  of  causes. 

Nearly  all  countries  have  delegated  divorce  jurisdiction  to 
the  courts,  thereby  relieving  legislative  bodies.  In  England, 
for  instance,  a  divorce  could  be  obtained  only  from  the  House 
of  Lords ;  now  it  is  through  the  High  Court  of  Justice.  In 
Canada,  while  the  subjects  of  marriage  and  divorce  are  vested 
in  the  Parliament,  that  body  has  not  as  yet  passed  any  legisla- 

1  For  this  classification  the  author  is  indebted  to  Dr.  Samuel  W. 
Dike,  the  Secretary  of  the  National  League  for  the  Protection  of  the 
Family. 


§92]  States  and  the  Union.  163 

tion  of  a  general  character ;  so  the  divorce  courts  of  the  dif- 
ferent provinces  continue  their  functions.  An  insignificant 
number  of  divorces  has  been  decreed  in  Canada,  the  total 
number  from  1868  to  1886,  inclusive,  being  only  116.  There 
have  been  many  changes  during  the  last  generation  in  the 
laws  regulating  marriage  and  divorce  in  European  countries. 
Prior  to  1868  the  ecclesiastical  courts  had,  in  Austria,  France, 
the  German  Empire,  Ireland,  and  Switzerland,  more  or  less 
complete  jurisdiction  over  matrimonial  causes,  but  the  civil 
courts  have  now  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  all  such  matters  in  all 
of  these  countries.  The  experience  of  France  is,  perhaps,  as 
marked  as  that  of  any  country,  for  under  the  legislation  of 
1884  there  has  been  a  very  great  increase  in  the  number  of 
divorces. 

92.   State  and  Federal  Relations  of  Marriage  and  Divorce. 

Both  marriage  and  divorce  are  much  complicated  by  the 
nature  of  our  Federal  government.  While  men  and  women 
go  and  come,  travel  freely  everywhere,  and,  as  a  rule,  are 
nowhere  called  upon  to  show  documentary  evidence  of  their 
marriage,  or  an  evidence  of  settlement,  yet  the  laws  of  the 
States  are  often  so  conflicting  that  a  legal  relation  in  one  State 
is  not  recognised  in  another.  In  general  a  valid  marriage 
contracted  in  one  State  is  valid  in  another,  and  thirteen  States 
and  Territories  so  provide ;  but  what  of  re-marriages  of  per- 
sons who  in  the  State  where  their  divorces  were  granted  could 
not  legally  re-marry? 

A  few  of  the  States  provide  that  marriage  after  divorce 
shall  be  permitted  without  limitation,  but  in  most  of  them 
there  is  no  provision  touching  the  subject  of  marriage  after 
divorce  has  been  granted ;  while  in  fifteen  States,  wherein 
marriage  after  divorce  is  not  expressly  allowed,  it  is  provided 
by  law  that  the  penalties  for  bigamy  or  other  offence  shall  not 
extend  to  persons  marrying  after  having  been  lawfully  divorced 
from  the  bonds  of  matrimony.  In  like  manner,  a  divorce 
granted  in  one  State  for  a  cause  not  recognised  in  another 


164  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§92 

may  or  may  not  be  recognised  in  the  second  State.  There 
are  therefore  some  cases  in  which  a  man  has  in  one  State  a 
wife  recognised  as  legally  bound  to  him  there,  and  another 
equally  bound  to  him  elsewhere.  Cases  have  occurred  where 
a  man  has  left  two  legal  widows,  each  of  whom  claimed  and 
got  his  estate,  so  far  as  it  lay  within  the  State  in  which  she 
was  married.  Of  course,  the  decrees  of  the  court  of  one 
State  are,  in  the  absence  of  fraud  and  a  few  other  conditions, 
respected  in  another  State. 

93.   Statistics  of  Divorce. 

The  whole  number  of  divorced  persons  enumerated  in  the 
United  States  proper  in  1900  was  198,914  out  of  a  total  popu- 
lation of  75,994,575,  the  divorced  constituting  but  little  more 
than  one  four-hundredth  of  the  whole  population.  There  were 
2,649  divorced  persons  less  than  20  years  of  age,  leaving 
196,265  divorced  persons  in  the  country  over  that  age.  It 
is  noteworthy  that  while  the  divorced  males  of  adult  age  con- 
stituted 0.38  per  cent  of  all  the  adult  males,  or  i  in  260,  the 
divorced  females  of  adult  age  made  0.55  of  that  class,  or  i  in 
182. 

The  important  comparison,  of  course,  is  that  of  divorced 
persons  to  the  married.  Differences  in  the  composition  of 
the  several  elements  of  the  population,  such  as  the  large  pro- 
portion of  children  among  the  native  whites  of  foreign  parent- 
age, and  the  undue  proportion  of  grown  people  among  the 
foreign  whites,  make  it  necessary  to  show  the  extent  to  which 
divorce  is  prevalent.  For  the  mainland  of  the  United  States, 
there  was  one  divorced  person  to  139  married,  but  there  are 
wide  variations  in  the  various  parts  of  the  Union.  The  pro- 
portion was  smallest  in  the  two  Atlantic  divisions,  and  largest 
in  the  Western  division,  while  in  the  Northern  and  Southern 
divisions  it  was  nearly  equal.  Divorce  was  somewhat  more 
common  among  the  native  whites  of  native  parentage  than 
among  the  total  population. 

The  foreign  whites  show  a  still  smaller  proportion   of  di- 


§  93] 


Statistics  of  Divorce. 


,65 


vorced,  that  for  the  United  States  being  but  little  more  than 
half  the  proportion  of  the  native  whites  of  native  parentage. 

Among  the  population  of  negro  descent  the  divorced  were 
more  prevalent  than  among  any  other  classes,  the  South  Cen- 
tral division  rising  to  one  for  every  67  of  such  persons  mar- 
ried. In  other  sections  the  negro  element  is  not  of  sufficient 
importance  numerically  to  render  the  results  of  value.1 

Figures  on  so  important  a  subject  need  to  be  carefully  sub- 
stantiated, though  few  States  provide  for  statistics  of  divorce. 
The  Federal  statistics  are  fairly  accurate ;  they  are  based  on 
data  collected  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Labour  for 
the  period  from  1867  to  i886,2  inclusive,  from  the  records  of 
the  courts  having  divorce  jurisdiction.  For  those  twenty  years 
there  were  granted  in  the  United  States  328,716  decrees  for 
divorce,  rising  from  9,937  in  1867  by  steady  and  rapid  in- 
crease to  25,535  in  1886.  While  divorces  thus  increased  two 
and  a  half  times,  the  total  population  of  the  United  States  in- 
creased only  about  60  per  cent.  Only  four  States  in  the  Union 
showed  a  decrease  in  their  divorce  figures.  The  proportion 
of  divorces  to  married  couples  in  1870  was  r  to  664,  while  in 
1880  it  was  i  to  481.  These  figures  show  the  rapidity  with 
which  divorces  have  increased  during  the  twenty  years  named. 

1  PER  CENT  OF  DIVORCED  PERSONS  TO  MARRIED  PERSONS,  BY 
GEOGRAPHICAL  DIVISIONS,  1900. 


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South  Atlantic     ........ 

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Western      

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United  States   .                   ... 

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1.16 

J  No  similar  data  for  a  later  date  exist. 


1 66  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§93 

Of  the  328,716  divorces  granted  in  the  United  States  for 
the  twenty  years  specified,  216,176,  or  almost  two-thirds  of 
the  whole,  were  granted  to  wives  on  their  petitions  for  divorce 
from  their  husbands,  and  112,54010  husbands  for  the  alleged 
fault  of  the  wives. 

94.   Legal  Causes  of  Divorce. 

Out  of  the  forty-two  causes  allowed  somewhere  or  other  in  the 
country,  more  than  four-fifths  of  all  decrees  include  five  great 
causes,  —  adultery,  20.59  per  cent ;  cruelty,  15.70  percent;  de- 
sertion, 38.54  per  cent ;  drunkenness,  4.2  per  cent ;  and  neglect 
to  provide,  2.42  per  cent.  To  be  sure,  the  causes  alleged  do  not 
in  all  cases  accurately  disclose  the  real  reasons  for  which  di- 
vorces are  sought ;  for  parties  are  quite  likely  to  state  that  cause 
which  is  most  easily  proved,  or  which  involves  the  least  amount 
of  moral  turpitude,  or  which,  if  proved,  results  in  the  least  hu- 
miliation to  all  concerned.  On  the  other  hand,  the  alleged 
cause  is  often  not  the  real  difficulty,  and  may  not  attach  to  the 
real  culprit ;  for  instance,  a  cruel,  brutal  husband  so  ill-treats 
his  wife  that  she  is  compelled  to  leave  him.  She  is  the  innocent 
party,  and  might  have  sought  and  secured  a  decree  for  divorce 
had  she  been  so  minded  ;  but  the  husband  files  a  libel  for 
divorce,  setting  up  the  desertion  of  his  wife,  and  she,  glad  to 
rid  herself  of  the  cruelty  of  her  husband,  makes  no  defence 
or  opposition ;  and  where  both  parties  are  so  involved  that 
neither  could  make  out  a  clear  case,  divorces  are  often  estab- 
lished by  collusion,  one  party  presenting  the  bill  of  com- 
plaint and  the  other  defaulting. 

95.   Duration   of  Married  Life. 

The  duration  of  marriage  before  divorce  is  granted  offers  an 
interesting  study.  Taking  all  divorces  granted  during  the 
period  1867—86,  it  is  found  that,  on  the  average,  the  husband 
had  lived  8.97  years  with  the  wife,  and  the  wife  9.27  years 
with  the  husband.  The  averages  given  are  much  disturbed, 
however,  by  the  surprising  fact  that  25,371  of  these  divorced 


§  96]  Causes  —  Migration.  1 67 

couples  had  lived  together  twenty-one  years  or  more ;  indeed, 
both  husbands  and  wives  in  this  class  averaged  nearly  twenty- 
seven  years  of  married  life,  and  in  some  extreme  instances 
they  had  lived  together  forty  years. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  ascertain  the  average  duration  of  mar- 
ried life  without  regard  to  divorce,  for  that  average  has  not 
been  scientifically  determined.  Only  in  a  few  localities  in 
Europe,  where  a  dissolution  of  marriage,  whether  by  death  or 
by  divorce,  must  be  entered  upon  the  certificates  issued  for 
the  celebration  of  marriage,  have  a  few  facts  been  gathered. 
Some  calculations  by  mathematical  processes,  and  by  other 
means  here  and  in  Europe,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
average  duration  of  married  life  ranges  between  twenty-one 
and  twenty-six  years.  If  one  assume  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
cussion that  the  duration  is  twenty-four  years,  then  the  average 
duration  of  married  life  of  divorced  persons  is  equal  to  two- 
fifths  of  the  average  duration  in  general  of  married  life. 

96.   Migration  for  Purpose  of   Divorce :  Children. 

A  vital  question  connected  with  divorce  relates  to  the  real 
or  supposed  migration  of  parties  from  one  State  to  another  for 
the  purpose  of  seeking  divorce.  The  popular  idea  that  a  great 
deal  of  travel  takes  place  for  the  purpose  named  is  dispelled 
to  some  degree  by  the  statistics.  Apparently  a  little  less  than 
one-fifth  of  all  the  couples  -  divorced  in  the  country  were 
divorced  in  other  States  than  those  in  which  they  were  mar- 
ried ;  but  the  ordinary  interstate  movement  of  population, 
especially  from  the  older  to  the  newer  States,  showed  in  1870 
that  more  than  23  per  cent  of  the  native-born  population, 
and  in  1880  more  than  22  per  cent,  were  living  in  States  other 
than  the  ones  in  which  they  were  born.  The  truth  seems  to 
be  that  the  residence  of  a  few  notorious  persons  in  States  hav- 
ing lax  divorce  laws  makes  a  greater  impression  on  the  public 
mind  than  is  warranted  by  the  facts. 

That  phase  of  the  question  which  involves  the  children  of 
unhappy  unions  is  one  which  appeals  to  our  sympathies  in  all 


1 68  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§96 

directions.  In  the  investigation  referred  to,  therefore,  the 
number  of  children  involved  was  ascertained,  though  imper- 
fectly. In  the  number  of  recorded  cases  (328,716),  57,524 
had  children,  and  in  141,810,  the  children  formed  no  part  of 
the  questions  arising  under  the  petitions  for  divorce.  This 
leaves  only  about  130,000  cases  in  which  children  may  have 
played  a  part  in  the  divorce  proceedings. 

97.  The  Evolution  of  Divorce. 

The  material  facts  connected  with  the  number  of  divorces 
in  this  country  have  been  stated  as  briefly  as  possible,  even 
at  the  risk  of  omitting  important  conditions  which  might 
modify  opinions.  The  situation  is  unparalleled  in  any  other 
country.  What  do  the  facts  mean?  What  attitude  should 
reasonable  people  take  in  relation  to  the  movement?  The 
question  cannot  be  satisfactorily  or  judiciously  considered 
from  either  of  the  usual  points  of  view,  from  the  standpoint 
of  unregulated  sentiment  on  the  one  hand,  or  of  rigid  eccle- 
siastical doctrine  on  the  other.  We  must  look  at  it  broadly, 
in  its  relation  to  other  changes  in  society,  especially  with  a 
recognition  of  the  intellectual,  social,  and  industrial  equality 
of  woman  and  her  progress  toward  emancipation  in  all  direc- 
tions. We  cannot  assert  that  divorce  is  to  be  considered  as 
an  isolated  question  to  be  solved  off-hand  by  a  single  act  of 
the  legislature ;  but  we  must  ascertain  whether  or  not  the 
tendency  to  divorce  means  retrogression,  whether  or  not  it 
means  a  vitiated  moral  public  sentiment,  whether  or  not  it  is 
an  evil ;  and  we  must  look  the  question  fairly  in  the  face  in 
all  its  bearings  courageously  and  honestly. 

The  evolution  of  divorce  has  been  as  significant  as  the 
evolution  of  marriage  ;  the  facts  all  show  us  that,  however 
dissimilar  may  be  the  countries  or  the  epochs,  the  union  of 
man  and  woman  begins,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  by  the 
complete  slavery  of  the  latter,  and  her  assimilation  to  the  con- 
dition of  domestic  animals,  over  which  man  has  all  possible 
rights,  and  which  he  may  drive  away  at  his  will.  Then,  as  the 


§97]  Evolution  of  Divorce.  169 

ages  move  on  their  course,  we  see  societies  which  become  by 
degrees  civilised,  and  in  proportion  to  this  advance  the  condi- 
tion of  woman  improves.  At  first  the  man  could  kill  her  if 
she  displeased  him  ;  then,  cases  of  infidelity  apart,  he  contented 
himself  with  repudiating  her  ;  next,  the  severity  of  this  right  of 
repudiation,  at  first  unlimited,  was  mitigated ;  then  it  was  re- 
stricted to  certain  well-defined  cases,  and  some  rights  were 
even  granted  to  the  repudiated  woman.  At  length  her  own 
right  was  recognised  to  seek  divorce  in  order  to  escape  from 
intolerable  treatment.  At  last  a  return  was  made  to  divorce 
by  mutual  consent,  which  had  been  allowed  before  a  rigid 
legislation,  generally  theocratic,  had  fixed  as  permanent  law 
some  of  the  old  barbarous  customs.1 

The  supposed*  magnitude  of  the  divorce  movement  in  the 
United  States  has  led  to  bitter  attacks  and  even  jeers  upon 
this  country ;  to  condemnations  of  our  laws,  our  school 
system,  our  prevailing  religion,  in  terms  that  imply  that  we 
are  retrograding  at  a  rapid  rate.  Yet  all  the  while  there  is 
not  a  people  anywhere  by  whom  woman  is  so  much  respected, 
honoured,  and  protected  as  in  America ;  there  is  not  a  land 
in  which  she  is  happier,  or  in  which  she  holds  so  exalted  a 
position  as  in  this ;  there  is  not  a  nation  that  has  placed  her 
on  so  independent  a  basis,  or  given  her  more  nearly  equal 
conditions  with  men  before  the  law.  Have  these  conditions 
anything  to  do  with  divorce  ?  Would  the  perfect  independ- 
ence of  woman,  her  perfect  equality  before  the  law  as  a  voter, 
accelerate  divorce  ?  Is  it  a  disease  peculiar  to  our  country  or 
our  times? 

In  the  history  of  mankind,  divorce  of  one  from  another  has 
always  been  resorted  to,  the  proceedings  varying  from  the 
simple  decree  of  the  husband  declaring  his  wife  divorced, 
to  the  cumbersome  process  of  enactment  by  Parliament. 
Divorce  is  undoubtedly  more  familiar  to  us,  because  the  pro- 
cesses in  this  country  are  quite  simple  and  fairly  uniform 
throughout  the  States,  though  the  administration  of  the  law 
1  Cf.  Ch.  Letourneau,  The  Evolution  of  Marriage. 


170  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§97 

differs  in  a  greater  degree ;  yet  it  cannot  be  urged  that  law, 
or  the  administration  of  law,  is  entirely,  or  even  largely,  re- 
sponsible for  the  vast  increase  in  the  number  of  divorces.  To 
understand  the  question,  we  must  carry  our  examination  deeper 
than  law  or  institutions. 

98.  The  Reasons  for  Divorce. 

Statistics  of  divorce  do  not  fully  indicate  or  measure  the 
marital  infelicity  or  social  misery  of  the  country ;  they  only 
reveal  that  misery  which  can  no  longer  abide  conditions,  the 
parties  to  which  have  the  courage  publicly  to  seek  release 
from  demoralising  burdens;  they  indicate  discontent,  but  dis- 
content which  is  not  simply  nursing  a  grievance  ;  they  suggest 
the  possibility  of  better  things,  just  as  to-day  the  discontent 
of  the  farmers  arises  from  their  awakening  to  the  possibility 
of  a  more  agreeable  life. 

What  is  marriage  for,  if  not  for  happiness,  the  divine  end 
of  all  institutions,  when  sought  in  its  broadest  significance  ? 
If  marriage  results  in  happiness,  the  divine  end  has  been  se- 
cured ;  if  marriage  does  not  result  in  happiness,  plainly  the 
divine  end  of  the  institution  has  been  sadly  missed,  and  few 
men  deny  that  in  some  cases  divorce  more  perfectly  secures 
the  divine  end  than  a  continuation  of  the  compact  which  may 
be  laying  intolerable  burdens  on  entirely  innocent  people. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  security  of  the  family,  and  ultimately 
of  society,  depends  upon  the  continued  sacredness  of  the 
civil  contract  of  marriage.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  continuance 
of  marriage  is  likely  to  destroy  that  sacredness  in  cases  of 
adultery ;  the  divine  and  the  civil  purposes  of  marriage  are 
thus  both  perverted,  happiness  has  been  completely  wrecked, 
and  the  moral  sentiment  of  society  outraged.  This  eminently 
sound  position,  which  makes  the  scriptural  cause  almost  uni- 
versally indorsed  as  a  righteous  reason  for  the  legal  dissolution 
of  marriage  ties,  will  hold  through  all  time.  In  granting  this 
position,  those  who  insist  most  strictly  on  a  limitation  to  the 
one  cause  have  given  up  their  own  ground ;  for  any  other 


§98]  Reasons  for  Divorce.  171 

cause  which  also  destroys  the  purpose  of  marriage,  and  makes 
it  dangerous,  must  logically  be  as  adequate  for  divorce  as  the 
scriptural  one.  The  words  of  Christ,  like  many  of  His  sayings, 
can  be  applied  literally  only  to  the  social  conditions  in  which 
He  lived ;  they  are  not  meant  to  be  a  code  of  law  for  all  later 
generations. 

That  several  causes  may  be  allowed  and  should  be  allowed 
lies  in  the  nature  of  the  problem.  Of  course  by  limitations 
of  causes  the  number  of  divorces  may  be  vastly  decreased. 
In  fact,  if  divorces  are  prohibited,  the  statistics  may  be  entirely 
wiped  out ;  and  so  far  as  figures  are  concerned,  law  may  secure 
a  perfect  immunity  from  divorce.  We  might  as  well  say  that 
when  the  blotches  resulting  from  humours  are  covered  by  a 
beautiful  enamel,  the  human  system  is  therefore  freed  from 
their  influences,  as  to  say  that  a  continued  prohibition  of  legal 
divorces  would  have  a  tendency  to  do  away  with  evil  practices. 
Between  prohibition  of  divorce  and  great  freedom  of  divorce, 
where  shall  the  line  be  drawn?  We  must  not  be  too  much 
influenced  by  accidental  conclusions.  It  seems  probable  that 
contemporaneously  with  the  agitation  for  what  is  called  the 
emancipation  of  woman,  or,  more  popularly,  the  discussion  of 
the  woman's  rights  question,  which  means  the  independence 
and  the  social  and  legal  equality  of  woman,  there  has  been 
a  decrease  in  marriages  relative  to  the  increase  of  population, 
a  relative  increase  of  illegitimate  births,  and  a  very  large  rela- 
tive increase  in  the  number  of  divorces  granted.  Do  these 
coincidental  facts  mean  anything  in  relation  to  the  divorce 
movement  ? 

Contemporaneously,  too,  there  has  been  an  increased  in- 
dustrial and  economic  independence  of  woman.  Hundreds 
of  occupations  are  now  open  to  her  that  a  generation  ago  were 
effectually  closed  to  her  entrance  ;  she  is  taking  magnificent 
rank  in  the  world  of  mind,  of  art,  of  science ;  she  is  demon- 
strating her  birthright  to  any  position  she  seeks ;  she  is  con- 
vincing the  world  that  she  can  successfully,  and  happily  too, 
enter  the  struggle  in  the  highest  educational  fields;  higher 


i/2  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§98 

institutions  of  learning  are  everywhere  being  opened  to  her ; 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship  is  freely  and  magnanimously  and 
courteously  extended  to  her ;  as  a  teacher  the  pre-eminence 
of  her  qualifications  is  acknowledged  everywhere  ;  as  a  preacher 
she  is  doing  God's  service ;  in  the  grand  healing  art  she  takes 
her  place  at  the  dissecting  table,  and  carries  through  her  pro- 
fessional work  with  courage  and  skill.  And  so  in  all  walks, 
her  independence,  economically,  socially,  and  politically,  is 
gradually  but  rapidly  being  acknowledged.  With  increased 
economic  independence  she  will  more  and  more  throw  off 
galling  yokes  and  assume  her  rightful  place,  and  along  with 
this  disposition  she  is  more  likely  to  contract  a  marriage  that 
will  bring  to  both  parties  the  highest,  the  purest,  and  the 
holiest  happiness. 

The  argument  for  allowing  divorce  for  several  causes,  so 
far  as  it  presents  itself  to  the  mind  of  women  at  all,  does  not 
seem  to  be  one  for  getting  away  from  husbands  per  se,  but 
for  getting  away  from  crushing  dependence  into  a  broader 
life.  Under  such  circumstances,  in  these  new  conditions,  the 
divorce  movement  has  naturally  been  accelerated.  The  laws 
do  not  create  the  wish  ;  they  facilitate  the  carrying  out  of 
wishes ;  they  are  the  statutory  expression  of  public  sentiment. 
Public  sentiment  is  therefore  in  favor  of  easy  divorce,  because 
it  believes  that  the  end  of  human  institutions  is  human  happi- 
ness, and  that  whatever  through  human  institutions  stands  in 
the  way  of  securing  these  grand  ends  must  be  set  aside. 

But  divorce  is  resorted  to  for  unholy  purposes ;  the  guilty 
seek  it  that  they  may  enter  other  marital  relations.  There  is 
not  one  step  of  progress  that  does  not  carry  along  with  it 
apparent  and  consequent  evils  or  the  overturning  of  individual 
interests.  It  is  only  by  going  back  to  a  state  of  barbarism 
that  we  should  be  free  from  most  of  the  evils  that  beset 
society  ;  it  is  only  through  enlightenment  that  we  recognise 
immoral  and  criminal  conditions.  Education,  science,  re- 
ligion even,  all  that  adorns  life  in  what  we  call  civilised  com- 
munities, are  but  cloaks  at  times  for  the  evil-minded.  The 


S99]  Reasons  for  Divorce.  173 

rain  falls  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust ;  refreshing  showers 
give  life  to  the  dishonest  man's  crops  as  perfectly  as  they  do 
to  those  of  the  saints ;  but  the  purity  of  religion,  the  integrity 
of  law,  the  truths  of  science,  the  grandeur  of  civilisation,  are 
not  impaired  either  by  the  motives  or  by  the  actions  of  the  base. 
When  conditions  and  burdens  become  too  galling  to  admit 
of  further  continuance  with  the  preservation  of  purity  and 
integrity,  we  must  take  the  risk  of  giving  facilities  which  may 
also  be  used  by  impure  men  and  women  to  secure  release 
from  disagreeable,  or  even  hated,  marital  relations  in  order 
to  enter  others  more  agreeable,  even  if  more  unholy.  Shall 
we  deprive  the  first  class  of  the  means  of  release  in  order  to 
hold  the  second  to  a  relation  which  they  openly  deride  ? 

"In  primitive  phases,"  says  Herbert  Spencer,  " while  per- 
manent monogamy  was  developing,  union  in  the  name  of  the 
law  —  that  is,  originally,  the  act  of  purchase  —  was  accounted 
the  essential  part  of  the  marriage,  and  union  in  the  name  of 
affection  was  not  essential.  In  the  present  day  union  in  the 
name  of  the  law  is  considered  the  most  important,  and  union 
by  affection  as  less  important.  A  time  will  come  when  union 
by  affection  will  be  considered  the  most  important,  and  union 
in  the  name  of  the  law  the  least  important,  and  men  will  hold 
in  reprobation  those  conjugal  unions  in  which  union  by  affec- 
tion is  dissolved."  And  Montaigne  once  wrote  :  "  We  have 
thought  to  make  our  marriage  tie  stronger  by  taking  away  all 
means  of  dissolving  it ;  but  the  more  we  have  tightened  the 
constraint,  so  much  the  more  have  we  relaxed  and  detracted 
from  the  bond  of  will  and  affection." 

99.  Reformation  of  Divorce. 

That  divorce  laws  often  are  lax  and  administered  with 
laxity  is  certain.  The  remedy  is,  however,  twofold,  —  by 
regulating  marriages  and  by  limiting  divorces.  Marriage 
should  be  made  more  difficult  and  more  impressive,  for  indis- 
creet and  hasty  marriages  lead  straight  to  divorce.  Publica- 
tion of  the  banns ;  penalties  for  reckless  marrying,  to  be  laid 


174  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§99 

against  the  delinquent  minister  or  magistrate ;  publication  of 
the  facts  stated  in  the  licenses,  —  these  are  some  of  the  possi- 
ble amendments. 

Divorce  may  be  restricted  without  abridging  the  reasonable 
causes  for  which  it  is  allowable  ;  for  instance,  law,  as  it  does  in 
some  States,  might  more  generally  make  the  guilty  party  amen- 
able before  a  criminal  court  through  an  indictment ;  that  is  to 
say,  if  a  cause  which,  if  it  existed,  would  be  a  crime,  is  proved 
as  a  reason  for  divorce,  the  case  should  be  transferred  at  once 
to  the  criminal  courts.  Again,  the  laws  might  make  the  State 
a  party  to  all  proceedings  for  divorce,  so  that  decrees  should 
no  longer  be  granted,  as  now,  after  ex  parte  evidence,  where 
it  is  not  the  duty  of  any  one  to  cross-examine  the  witnesses 
for  the  petitioner,  and  where  it  is  not  the  desire  of  the  libellee 
to  appear  in  the  case.  The  State  fosters  the  marriage  con- 
tract, —  is,  in  fact,  almost  a  party  to  it ;  it  would  be  well,  then, 
if  the  State  should  be  represented  when  the  attempt  is  made 
to  set  the  contract  aside.  Laws  might  make  re-marriage  after 
divorce  more  difficult ;  in  fact,  it  has  sometimes  been  urged 
that  law  should  say  that  the  party  against  whom  a  decree  has 
been  granted  should  never  re-marry.  Many  complications 
would  arise  under  such  an  order  of  things ;  indeed,  they  are 
seen  where  law  forbids  the  defendant's  re-marriage.  For  in- 
stance, if  a  wife  secures  a  decree  of  divorce  from  her  husband, 
he  being  proved  to  be  guilty  of  the  alleged  cause,  and  the 
wife  only  should  be  permitted  to  re-marry,  the  husband  would 
still  be  a  married  man  to  all  intents  and  purposes  so  far  as  law 
is  concerned,  and,  should  he  re-marry,  would  be  guilty  of 
bigamy  or  adultery,  while  the  wife  might  re-marry  without 
being  subject  to  the  penalties  of  the  law.  Yet  it  is  probably 
true  that  the  ingenuity  of  legislators  may  make  it  more  difficult 
for  divorced  parties  to  re-marry;  at  least,  they  might  provide 
that  re- marriage  should  not  be  permitted  without  proper  pro- 
ceedings, as  is  the  case  in  some  States.  Methods  of  proced- 
ure, notice  of  intended  proceedings,  testimony,  the  general 
administration  of  divorce  laws,  might  be  reformed.  Action  in 


§  99]  Reformation  of  Divorce.  17  <; 

all  these  directions,  in  connection  with  making  marriage  laws 
more  stringent,  or  in  securing  their  better  enforcement,  would 
result  in  throwing  safeguards  around  processes  that  are  con- 
stantly abused.  One  of  the  most  hopeful  projects  is  for  joint 
action  of  State  legislatures  in  enacting  marriage  and  divorce 
laws  which  have  been  drawn  up  by  commissions  representing 
several  States ;  it  bids  fair  to  do  much  with  the  anomalies  and 
difficulties  of  interstate  relations. 

But  new  laws,  reforms  in  the  methods  of  procedure,  re- 
strictions at  the  start,  when  parties  unite  in  marriage,  or  at 
the  close,  when  the  marriage  is  dissolved,  can  accomplish  but 
little  so  long  as  the  community  considers  easy  divorce  desir- 
able. It  is  often  urged  that  the  best  way  to  prevent  ill-advised 
marriages  is  to  make  people  stick  to  them  when  made.  This 
would  be  true  and  effective  in  a  certain  degree  were  it  not  for 
the  fact  of  separations,  either  by  law  or  by  agreement,  which 
take  place  where  divorce  is  absolutely  prohibited  or  not  prac- 
tised, and  which  result  too  often  in  one  or  the  other  party,  or 
both,  living  a  life  of  licentiousness  and  immorality,  which 
causes  far  more  suffering  and  social  disorder  than  occur  as  a 
result  of  legal  divorce.  In  a  religious  and  ideal  state  there 
can  be  no  crime  ;  in  the  actual  state  there  is  much  crime,  and 
the  legislator  must  meet  the  conditions  of  society  as  he  finds 
them.  In  heaven  there  is  to  be  no  marrying  and  no  giving  in 
marriage  ;  in  the  actual  life  of  the  present,  marriage,  for  various 
motives,  holy  and  unholy,  is  the  rule,  and  the  legislator,  even 
with  the  highest  ideal  of  religion  before  him,  and  in  his  heart 
and  mind,  must  consider  the  actions  of  men  as  he  finds  them. 
Legal  amendments  are  useful  to  a  certain  extent  as  indicating 
public  sentiment,  and  as  leading  to  the  correction  of  abuses ; 
but  they  are  in  the  nature  of  surface  treatments  ;  they  do  not 
recognise  the  changes  of  social  conditions  any  more  than 
quack  remedies  recognise  constitutional  physical  conditions 
or  that  certain  weaknesses  are  developed  by  growth. 

If  the  prohibition  or  serious  restriction  of  divorce  would  be 
an  abhorrent  step  toward  remanding  woman  to  her  old  condi- 


176  Marriage  and  Divorce.  [§99 

tions,  it  is  equally  true  that  "  the  annihilation  of  the  family  is 
the  suicide  of  the  human  race."  This  ugly  question  is  a  two- 
edged  sword,  that  may  be  turned  aside  only  by  an  enlighten- 
ment which  comes  from  the  highest  moral  culture,  through 
the  more  perfect  independence  of  woman,  and  the  knightly 
recognition  of  her  true  sphere  by  the  men  of  the  coming  age. 
By  nature  she  has  borne  and  bears  the  severest  burdens, 
burdens  which  claim  for  her  not  only  the  deepest  sympathy 
of  man,  but  that  close  and  loving  companionship  which  is 
born  of  her  recognition  as  an  equal,  a  recognition  which  can 
never  come  when  she  is  considered  as  a  subordinate  or  as 
an  inferior. 

There  is  much  in  the  further  thought  that  marriage  takes 
place  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  parties  to  it ;  that  the 
ministerial  act  is  one  which  has  been  ordained  by  law  for  the 
purpose  of  defining  the  legal  status  of  the  parties.  This  latter 
is  in  the  interest  of  the  succession  of  property,  the  rights  of 
children,  etc.  Law  does  not  make  the  marriage  in  the  holiest 
sense  ;  this  can  be  done  only  by  the  parties.  So,  on  the  other 
hand,  law  does  not  create  divorce  ;  divorce  occurs  when  the 
husband  and  wife  are  estranged.  Law  steps  in  and  defines 
the  status  of  the  divorced  parties,  but  does  not  create  it. 

The  pressure  for  divorce  finds  its  impetus  outside  of  laws, 
outside  of  our  institutions,  outside  of  our  theology  :  it  springs 
from  the  rebellion  of  the  human  heart  against  that  slavery 
which  binds  in  the  crudest  bonds  human  beings  who  have, 
by  their  haste,  their  want  of  wisdom,  or  the  intervention  of 
friends,  missed  the  divine  purpose  as  well  as  the  civil  purpose 
of  marriage.  The  welfare  of  society  depends  upon  an  en- 
hanced purity,  a  sublimer  sacredness,  a  more  beautiful  em- 
bodiment of  Lamartine's  trinity  :  "  The  father,  the  mother, 
and  the  child  which  perpetuates  their  being,  unceasingly  re- 
produce the  trinity,  which  of  itself  completes  and  continues 
the  race."  We  may  well  declare,  with  Dr.  Elisha  Mulford, 
that  "sociology  is  the  coming  science,  and  the  family  holds 
the  key  to  it." 


CHAPTER   XI. 
EDUCATION. 

100.     References. 

U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  Reports  ;  Educational  Review,  espe- 
cially William  B.  Shaw,  Compulsory  Educationally,  Sept.,  1892} ;  School 
Review  (passim)  ;  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Report  on  Industrial  Ed- 
ucation, in  Eighth  Annual  Report  (1892),  and  Trade  Schools,  in  Seventeenth 
Annual  Report  (1902) ;  James  MacAlister,  Manual  Training  in  the  Public 
Schools  of  Philadelphia  ;  J.  Froebel,  Education  of  Man  ;  Charles  H.  Ham, 
Manual  Training  ;  C.  M.  Woodward,  Manual  Training  School  and  Edu- 
cational Value  of  Manual  Training;  H.  C.  Bow  en,  Froebel  and  Education 
by  Self-Activity  ;  publications  of  Slater  and  Peabody  Educational  Funds, 
Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  National  Educational  Associa- 
tion, Annual  Reports  (see  Index,  Volume  I.)  ;  Charles  W.  Eliot,  Wherein 
Popular  Education  has  Failed,  in  American  Contributions  to  Civilization, 
ch.  viii.,  and  Educational  Reform  ;  Arthur  T.  Hadley,  Education  of  the 
American  Citizen  ;  C.  H.  Henderson,  The  Philosophy  of  Manual  Train- 
ing, in  Popular  Science  Monthly,  LIII.  No.  2  (June,  1898);  Duke  of 
Argyll,  The  Reign  of  Law,  ch.  vii. ;  Lester  F.  Ward,  Dynamic  Sociology 
(2d  ed.),  title  "Education"  (passim);  Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of 
Sociology,  III.  part  vii. ;  Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  Studies  in  American  Edu- 
cation ;  Daniel  C.  Oilman,  University  Problems  in  the  United  States; 
Samuel  T.  Dutton,  Social  Phases  of  Education  in  the  School  and  Home. 

101.    The  Duty  of  Education. 

Education  is  a  mark  of  civilisation.  Wherever  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  tribes,  communities,  States,  or  nations  have 
made  any  advance,  they  have  provided  in  some  way  for  the 
education  either  of  a  part  or  of  the  whole  of  the  population. 
In  nearly  all  the  countries  of  Europe  mediaeval  education  was 
under  the  care  of  scholars,  and  in  some  of  governments, 
and  it  played  an  important  part  in  the  movements  of  the 
Protestant  reformers  and  also  in  the  reaction  in  favour  of  the 
papacy  under  the  Jesuits.  Intellectual  culture  was  necessarily 
associated  in  the  mind  of  Luther  with  religious  reform.  In 


78 


Education.  [§  101 


1528  Melanchthon  drew  up  the  plan  of  studies  which  was  fol- 
lowed in  the  Protestant  common  schools  of  Germany  till  the 
close  of  the  century.  The  pupils  learned  to  read,  to  write, 
and  to  sing,  and  made  some  progress  in  the  study  of  Latin. 
Universities  flourished  in  mediaeval  times,  being  founded  in 
nearly  all  the  great  countries  of  Western  Europe.  The  Catho- 
lic Church  cultivated  science  as  then  understood,  and  employed 
the  authority  of  learning  in  favour  of  hierarchical  power. 

Yet  not  until  modern  times  did  the  great  distinction  between 
education  for  classes  and  that  for  the  whole  people  occur.  In 
the  olden  times,  either  mediaeval  or  ancient,  teachers  for  the 
few  was  the  rule ;  the  modern  idea  is,  teachers  for  all. 
Nearly  all  European  countries  thus  have  some  system  of 
public  education,  England  being  among  the  latest  to  adopt 
its  public-school  system,  while  its  widest  extension  is  to  be 
found  in  America. 

It  is  but  natural  that  the  primary  interest  in  education 
centres  in  the  family,  for  out  of  the  efforts  to  carry  on  the 
family  system  of  education  grew  the  public-school  system. 
The  inadequacy  of  private  effort,  because  of  the  expense  and 
disinclination,  has  led  governments  to  establish  some  free  sys- 
tem under  which  all  the  children  of  certain  ages  should  be 
brought  within  their  influence.  In  the  various  States  the  growth 
of  the  public-school  system  has  not  been  uniform.  The  New 
England  colonies  early  in  their  history  made  some  provision 
for  common-school  training.  The  Middle  States  came  later, 
while  in  the  Southern  States  it  is  only  within  recent  years  that 
public  education  has  been  the  rule.  Broadly,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  North  once  represented  the  free-school  system  and 
the  South  the  individual  or  family  system  ;  but  now  throughout 
the  whole  country  the  public-school  system  is  firmly  estab- 
lished, and  in  many  States  is  imbedded  in  provisions  of  their 
constitutions. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  four  systems  or  methods  of 
education,  —  first,  through  home  instruction,  which  is  some- 
times supplemented  by  teachers  and  governesses.  The  advan  • 


§ioi]  Duty.  179 

tage  claimed  for  this  method  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  pupil  is 
constantly  under  home  influences,  and  thus  receives  moral  as 
well  as  intellectual  training.  The  disadvantage  is  that  it  de- 
prives the  pupils  of  that  association  which  under  our  modern 
institutions  is  essential  for  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
best  order  of  citizenship.  It  is  an  expensive  method,  and  can 
be  adopted  only  by  those  who  have  the  means ;  it  perpetuates 
in  a  certain  sense  aristocratic  notions ;  and  while  it  may  be 
advantageous  in  some  respects  to  the  children  concerned,  it 
robs  the  mass  of  children  of  the  influence  of  those  living  under 
better  conditions. 

The  second  method  is  through  private  schools,  a  very  natural 
outgrowth  of  the  system  of  home  instruction.  These  schools 
are  usually  for  richer  children,  whose  parents  do  not  care  to 
have  them  enter  the  rigid  classification  of  the  public  schools, 
or  to  associate  with  all  those  who  may  be  brought  into  the 
latter.  Private  schools  have  the  same  disadvantages  that 
accompany  home  instruction ;  yet,  as  an  advantage,  parents 
can  more  easily  guide  the  grade  of  education  to  be  acquired. 
Among  them  are  to  be  found  some  of  the  very  best  schools  in 
the  country.  They  take  children  from  primary  departments 
through  all  the  grades  intermediate  and  connected  with  the 
public  high  schools.  The  highest  grade  of  private  schools  are 
usually  called  seminaries,  and  are  more  generally  for  young 
ladies  whose  parents  desire  to  fit  them  in  a  polished  way  for 
their  place  in  society,  securing  instruction  for  them  in  the  more 
cultured  branches  of  education  and  some  of  the  advantages  of 
social  life.  They  do  not  rank  with  colleges,  although  many  of 
them  have  in  their  curricula  the  branches  taught  in  the  colleges. 
One  of  the  disadvantages  of  private  schools  is  that  those  who 
support  them  must  also  contribute  to  the  public  schools,  and 
that,  as  in  the  case  of  home  instruction,  the  pupils  do  not  have 
the  advantage  of  association  with  all  classes,  which  in  republics 
is  claimed  to  be  essential  for  the  development  of  the  highest 
grade  of  citizenship. 

The  third  method  of  education  in  vogue,  both  here  and  in 


180  Education.  [§  101 

Europe,  is  through  church  schools,  wherein  not  only  are  the 
rudiments  of  a  general  education  taught,  but  also  more  or  less 
of  the  tenets  and  principles  of  the  particular  church  establishing 
the  school.  The  Catholics  maintain  what  are  called  "  parochial 
schools,"  and  they  claim  as  one  of  the  great  advantages  of  such 
institutions  the  opportunity  for  teaching  morals  as  well  as  let- 
ters. The  Episcopalians  and  Lutherans  maintain  parochial 
schools  for  the  same  reason,  and  for  the  general  reason  that  in 
the  public  schools,  as  is  claimed  by  the  adherents  of  the  pa- 
rochial form  of  teaching,  there  is  a  laxity  of  moral  instruction 
and  consequently  a  tendency  to  immoral  practices.  The  church 
schools  oftentimes  have  a  high  standard  of  teaching,  but  they 
are  in  a  certain  sense  clannish  in  their  influences,  and  must  be 
supported  by  private  or  church  contributions,  while  those  who 
support  them  must  also  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
public  schools. 

The  fourth  method,  that  which  is  in  general  practice  and  is 
more  generally  approved,  is  the  public-school  system ;  this 
involves  teaching  from  the  very  lowest  or  kindergarten  grade 
to  the  very  highest  grade  of  the  public  schools,  and  is  an  inte- 
gral part  of  college  and  university  systems.  To  understand 
this  system,  the  grades  are  taken  up  in  the  order  of  their  occur- 
rence, without  reference  to  their  chronological  establishment. 

102.    The  Kindergarten,  a  School  for  Youngest  Pupils. 

Taking  up  the  subject  of  education  in  the  order  of  the  child's 
growth,  we  first  reach  a  modern  system  for  dealing  with  very 
young  children.  Except  in  a  few  favoured  cities,  this  work  is 
done  in  small  private  schools,  supported  by  tuition  or  some- 
times by  subscription  or  endowment.  Churches  are  doing 
much  in  this  direction. 

The  relation  of  the  kindergarten  to  education  generally, 
whether  academic  or  industrial,  is  of  the  utmost  importance ; 
but  when  it  is  considered  in  relation  to  the  moral  development 
of  the  child  its  importance  is  vastly  increased.  The  kinder- 
garten is  the  appropriate  place  for  the  training  of  children  in 


§102]  The  Kindergarten.  181 

a  moral,  intellectual,  and  practical  way  before  the  age  at  which 
they  may  properly  be  sent  to  school.  It  aims  to  give  them 
control  of  themselves,  of  all  their  powers  and  skill,  so  that  the 
subsequent  school  life  for  the  attainment  of  a  given  grade  of 
proficiency  is  materially  shortened,  and  hence  the  proficiency 
of  the  children  during  the  customary  years  of  school  attend- 
ance may  be  materially  enhanced.  The  kindergarten  involves 
not  only  mental,  moral,  and  manual  training,  but  forms  the 
broadest  basis  for  such  training  during  school  life. 

The  conspicuous  and  decided  effect  of  kindergartens  in 
preventing  the  inception  and  development  of  criminal  tenden- 
cies in  children  exposed  by  their  home  life  or  neglect  to  such 
tendencies  proves  most  conclusively  that  the  kindergarten  ef- 
fects an  immense  pecuniary  saving  to  the  community,  not  only 
in  diminishing  expenditures  otherwise  necessary  for  police  and 
protective  measures,  but  in  rendering  what  would  otherwise  be 
a  criminal  population  a  part  of  the  useful,  self-supporting,  law- 
abiding  membership  of  the  State.  In  the  city  of  San  Francisco 
attempts  have  been  made  to  follow  the  experience  of  18,000 
children  who  have  been  taught  in  the  kindergartens,  and  out 
of  9,000  whose  subsequent  lives  have  been  traced,  only  one, 
and  he  a  half-witted  person,  has  ever  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  police.  Thus  the  kindergarten  may  be  considered  as  the 
very  inception  of  manual,  academic,  and  moral  instruction  for 
children  whose  home  influences  are  inferior. 

For  over  thirty  years  the  kindergarten  system  has  been 
approved  by  a  large  proportion  of  the  foremost  educational 
authorities  of  this  country,  and  hardly  a  single  year  has  passed 
that  has  not  witnessed  a  material  advance  in  such  approval,  as 
evidenced  either  by  new  introductions  or  by  extensions  in  con- 
nection with  the  public-school  system.  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
cities  (of  over  4,000  population)  have  engrafted  the  kinder- 
garten upon  the  public-school  system,  while  in  some  of  the  same, 
and  in  many  other  cities  free  kindergartens  exist,  supported  by 
private  means,  such  support  in  many  cases  having  been  the  pre- 
liminary step  to  the  establishment  of  the  public  kindergarten. 


1 82  Education.  [§102 

Dr.  Randall  Spaulding,  superintendent  of  the  public  schools 
of  Montclair,  N.  J.,  has  crystallised  the  answer  to  the  question, 
What  does  the  kindergarten  do  ? 1  The  work  is  carefully  graded 
to  suit  the  growing  capacity  of  the  child.  In  the  first  gift  the 
simplest  objects  are  given  to  the  child,  the  coloured  balls.  He 
detects  resemblances  between  these  and  other  objects  that 
come  within  the  range  of  his  experience,  and  so  acquires  clear- 
ness of  ideas.  The  qualities  that  he  discerns  are  few  and 
simple.  In  the  second  gift  he  receives  the  hard  polished 
sphere,  the  cube,  and  the  intermediate  form  of  the  cylinder. 
Now  he  observes  faces,  curved  and  plane ;  differences  in  form 
and  surfaces.  He  is  now  concerned  more  than  formerly  with 
qualities  of  things,  and  receives  ideas  that  are  not  only  clear 
but  distinct.  Into  the  third  gift  enter  the  ideas  of  number 
and  use,  while  into  the  three  succeeding  gifts  enter  progres- 
sively new  distinctions  of  form,  colour,  and  use.  The  faculties 
of  invention  and  taste  are  exercised.  In  succeeding  gifts  sur- 
faces, straight  lines  of  equal  and  unequal  length,  curved,  and 
variable  lines,  together  with  a  multitude  of  applications  and 
illustrations  in  designing,  weaving,  plaiting,  etc.,  are  studied. 
The  whole  is,  in  short,  progressive  at  every  stage. 

The  child's  impulse  to  bodily  activity  is  gratified.  If  this 
impulse  is  repressed,  as  is  too  often  the  case  in  our  schools,  an 
activity  that  is  abnormal  and  illegitimate  will  be  forced  upon 
the  child.  Moreover,  bodily  activity  not  only  relieves  nervous 
tension,  strengthens  the  muscles,  and  so  conserves  the  physical 
health,  but  it  is  itself  expressive  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  is, 
therefore,  carefully  noted  by  the  skilful  kindergartner. 

The  kindergarten  develops  the  child  on  his  social  or  moral 
side.  He  learns  that  what  is  customary  in  the  mutual  rela- 
tions of  right-thinking  people  is  right.  Through  the  games  and 
through  co-operation  and  associated  work  he  learns  that  with- 
out kindness,  justice,  and  truthfulness  social  life  is  neither 
comfortable  nor  for  any  extended  time  even  possible.  This 
social  development  is  one  of  the  highest  functions  of  kinder- 
1  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Eighth  Annual  Report 


§103]  Public  Schools.  183 

garten  work,  and  generally  distinguishes  the  genuine  from  the 
superficial  kindergarten. 

The  nature  lessons  of  the  kindergarten  teach  reverence  for 
life.  The  biologist  is  the  most  tender-hearted  of  men.  Con- 
tact and  study  breed  respect  for  the  beautiful  and  wonderful 
forms  of  organic  life. 

The  kindergarten  makes  prominent  use  of  that  combined 
bodily  and  mental  activity  that  we  may  call  physio-psychological. 
Its  aim  is  to  co-ordinate  the  muscles  with  the  will,  expressing 
itself  through  the  motor  nerves.  The  mind  habitually  con- 
ceives more  than  its  physical  instruments  can  execute.  The 
kindergarten  seeks  to  co-ordinate  the  physical  with  the  mental. 
To  this  end  the  hand  and  the  eye  are  constantly  trained  to- 
gether in  the  expression  of  thought.  Much  of  the  world's 
profoundest  thought  has  been  expressed  through  construction. 
With  children,  construction  leads  most  easily  and  naturally  to 
expression  through  language. 

103.   Growth  of  the  Public-School  System. 

The  growth  of  the  public-school  system  has  been  marvellous, 
as  a  few  data  will  show.  According  to  the  Annual  Report  of 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1899-00, 
making  some  allowances  for  revision,  it  is  estimated  that  the 
number  of  persons  from  5  to  18  years  of  age  is  22,253,050, 
out  of  the  population  of  the  United  States  proper  (75,568,686). 
The  number  of  different  pupils  enrolled  on  the  public-school 
registers,  exclusive  of  kindergartens,  colleges,  and  universities, 
is  15,341,220,  or  somewhat  over  a  fifth  of  the  total  population, 
and  68.93  Per  cent  °f  tne  total  number  of  persons  from  5  to 
1 8  years  of  age.  The  average  daily  attendance  is  10,513,518, 
or  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  enrolment.  The  percentage  of 
enrolment  of  children  of  school  age  varies  in  different  sec- 
tions ;  for  the  North  Atlantic  division  it  is  just  68.09  per  cent, 
for  the  South  Atlantic  division  61.37  per  cent,  and  for  the 
South  Central  division  61.90  per  cent;  for  the  North  Central 
division  75.68  per  cent,  and  for  the  Western  division  81.13 
per  cent. 


184  Education.  [§103 

The  percentage  of  the  population  enrolled  in  the  public  and 
other  schools  is  higher  in  the  United  States  than  in  any  other 
country  in  the  world.  The  percentage  here  is  23.3.  Bavaria 
comes  next ;  then  in  order,  Canada,  Baden,  and  Saxony,  all 
with  an  enrolment  of  over  20  per  cent  of  their  population  ; 
the  other  countries  having  an  enrolment  of  less  than  20  per 
cent  of  their  total  population,  the  lowest  being  Roumania,  with 
2.5  per  cent.  Countries  that  we  are  more  familiar  with  have 
high  percentages  of  enrolment,  notably  the  German  Empire, 
England  and  Wales,  and  France,  —  all  ranging  between  1 5  and 
1 8  per  cent.  Italy,  Greece,  Portugal,  Bulgaria,  Russia,  Servia, 
and  Turkey,  —  all  come  below  10  per  cent.  Spain  is  just 
above  the  10  per  cent  mark.  Most  of  the  countries  named 
have  either  free  or  mixed  pay  and  free  schools.  Enrolment  of 
course  is  not  a  test  of  attendance,  and  the  proportion  of 
children  actually  receiving  instruction  is  undoubtedly  larger  in 
Germany,  Switzerland,  and  France  than  in  the  United  States. 

In  1870  the  average  total  amount  of  schooling  for  each  in- 
habitant in  both  public  and  private  schools  was  3.36  years  of 
200  school  days  each,  while  in  1900  the  average  was  4.99  years. 
On  this  basis  the  increase  since  1870  in  the  various  divisions 
has  been,  for  the  North  Atlantic,  from  5.0610  6.71  years;  the 
South  Atlantic,  from  1.23  to  3.02  ;  the  South  Central,  from  1.12 
to  2.96  ;  the  North  Central,  from  4.01  to  5.94  ;  and  in  the 
Western,  from  3.56  to  5.83.  The  Commissioner  of  Education 
estimates  that  the  entire  schooling  obtained  by  the  average 
inhabitant  in  1800  was  equal  to  82  days;  in  1840,  208;  in 
1850,420;  in  1860,  434;  in  1870,  672;  in  1880,  792;  in 
1890,  892  ;  and  in  1900,  998.  For  the  later  period  this 
estimate  includes  common  and  private  schools  and  colleges. 
No  facts  could  be  more  expressive  of  the  amount  of  schooling 
received  by  those  attending  the  public  schools. 

One  of  the  greatest  advantages  claimed  for  the  public- 
school  system  is  the  sociological  effect  of  massing  children  in 
common  association.  It  is  believed  by  the  friends  of  this 
system  that  such  massing  develops  individual  character,  be- 


§104]  Lower  Public  Schools.  185 

cause  each  child  must  compete  with  every  other,  while  in 
private  arid  church  schools  the  tendency  is  to  keep  each  child 
at  the  minimum  development  of  his  character ;  in  a  public 
school  he  has  to  take  the  rough-and-tumble  of  life.  This  is 
true,  of  course,  of  the  child  coming  out  of  the  private  or  church 
schools,  but  he  is  turned  into  this  rough-and-tumble  at  a  later 
age,  and  hence  is  weaker  in  many  respects  than  his  competitor 
trained  in  the  public  schools. 

The  public-school  system  has  had  a  great  Americanising  in- 
fluence on  foreigners.  The  difficulty  of  assimilating  so  many 
different  foreign  elements  and  so  many  persons  of  foreign 
birth  is  lessened  through  the  public  school,  for  the  children 
coming  to  this  country,  and  those  of  foreign-born  parents,  must, 
in  order  to  meet  with  fair  success,  learn  the  principles  of 
American  institutions  and  the  English  language,  and  secure 
the  training  of  the  public  schools ;  without  these  schools  there 
would  be  in  America  groups  or  communities  of  persons  of  dif- 
ferent nationalities,  preserving  their  own  language  and  racial 
characteristics.  This  would  weaken  republican  institutions, 
and  make  the  question  of  immigration  far  more  difficult  than 
at  present.  Notwithstanding  the  great  influence  of  the  public 
schools,  however,  such  communities  exist  in  small  degree,  but 
they  gradually  lose  their  importance.  The  great  watchword 
of  America  is  that  all  persons  coming  here  must  become 
Americans. 

104.   The  Public  School  System  below  the  High  School. 

That  part  of  the  public-school  system  which  interests  the 
greatest  number  of  persons  is  to  be  found  below  the  grade 
known  as  the  high  school,  for  probably  90  per  cent  of  the 
children  passing  through  our  public  schools  leave  them  at  the 
grammar  grades,  or  the  highest  grade  under  the  high  school. 
Public  interest  is  therefore  largely  centred  in  the  perfection 
of  the  primary,  intermediate,  and  grammar  grades,  in  which 
many  a  child  is  taught  all  that  he  will  ever  receive  in  the  way  of 
education  before  entering  upon  his  lifework.  He  is  instructed 


1 86  Education.  [§104 

in  the  primary  branches,  —  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geog- 
raphy, grammar,  and  history;  these  constitute  the  general 
studies  in  the  three  great  grades  below  the  high  school.  It  is 
here  that  our  citizens  are  made,  for  in  addition  to  the  principal 
studies  enumerated,  there  have  been  introduced  in  late  years 
the  fundamental  principles  of  government,  something  of  physi- 
ology and  anatomy,  and,  through  oral  teaching,  much  that 
develops  the  individual  pupil  and  fits  him  to  comprehend  his 
duties  as  a  citizen. 

The  governments  of  the  United  States  are  not  alone  in 
fostering  the  very  best  work  in  these  lower  grades ;  most 
European  countries  comprehend  the  necessity  of  giving  to 
every  child  an  education,  including  at  least  all  the  work  up  to 
and  through  the  grammar  school.  So  when  people  refer  to  the 
public  system,  as  a  rule  they  comprehend  in  their  estimate 
the  schools  up  to  and  including  the  grammar  schools.  There 
are,  however,  superficial  disadvantages  connected  with  the 
modern  system  as  well  as  advantages,  and  there  is  plenty  of 
opposition  to  any  particular  extension  of  the  common  schools. 
The  system  is,  nevertheless,  now  universal,  and  its  influence 
cannot  be  abridged ;  its  standard  will  be  constantly  raised  as 
the  necessity  of  general  education  becomes  more  apparent. 

105.  The  American  High  School. 

Free  public  schools  of  lower  grades  are  now  happily  familiar 
in  all  countries  of  European  civilisation ;  but  there  has  been 
developed  in  the  United  States  a  system  of  free  public  high 
schools,  unexampled  in  the  world's  history.  The  German 
gymnasia  are  schools  supported  partly  by  taxation,  partly  by 
high  fees  from  the  boys  who  attend ;  the  American  high 
schools  are  so  far  free  that  in  many  of  them  even  text- 
books are  furnished.  The  so-called  English  public  schools  are 
expensive  and  rather  clannish  boys'  boarding  schools ;  the 
American  high  schools  are  resorted  ,to  by  boys  and  girls  of  all 
classes. 

In  most  of  our  cities  and  large  towns  the  high  schools,  fis.e 


§105]  High  Schools.  187 

to  the  intellectual  standards  of  the  ordinary  college  of  fifty  or 
sixty  years  ago  and  of  many  of  the  ordinary  colleges  as  they 
exist  in  some  parts  of  the  country  to-day.  The  only  condition 
imposed  is  that  these  high  schools  shall  be  open  only  to  chil- 
dren who  successfully  pass  from  the  grades  below ;  hence  the 
pupils  of  the  high  schools  are  the  selected  children  of  each 
community,  and  they  may  secure  an  education  embracing  the 
languages,  higher  mathematics,  the  elements  of  the  sciences, 
rhetoric,  civil  government,  —  all  the  branches,  in  fact,  that 
used  to  be  taught  in  the  colleges.  The  graduate  of  the  high 
school  is  supposed  to  be  so  well  informed  that  he  may  easily 
enter  any  calling  in  life  not  of  a  professional  nature.  In  the 
high  schools  of  some  States  he  may  also  fit  for  college. 

It  is  just  here  that  the  extreme  individualist  finds  fault  with 
the  public-school  system.  He  insists  that  it  goes  too  far; 
that  it  should  stop  with  the  grammar  grades  ;  that  it  is  not 
the  business  of  the  public  to  give  special  instruction  to  par- 
ticularly bright  young  men  or  to  aid  them  in  preparing  for  a 
career  in  life  or  for  a  college  course ;  that  all  such  matters 
should  be  left  to  private  endeavour.  Another  objection  which 
the  individualist  makes  is  that  by  this  extension  of  educational 
privileges  many  young  men  and  women  are  given  aspirations 
which  their  native  capacity  does  not  allow  them  to  satisfy,  and 
thus  many  persons  are  wrecked  who,  had  they  not  received  the 
education  of  the  high  school,  would  have  been  content,  or 
fairly  so,  to  work  in  callings  adapted  to  their  capacity. 

The  objector  carries  the  old  saying  that  "  a  little  learning  is 
a  dangerous  thing  "  to  the  extreme.  He  does  not  recognise 
that  many  of  the  troubles,  social  and  industrial,  of  the  present 
time  are  due  to  a  certain  degree  of  intelligence,  and  that  to 
avoid  them  more  intelligence  is  required.  He  does  not  under- 
stand how  important  the  high  school  has  become  as  the  feeder 
of  the  normal  school,  and  as  the  foundation  of  a  class  in  the 
country  interested  in  education  and  in  public  affairs.  As 
Macaulay  put  it,  the  evils  of  liberty  can  be  cured  only  by  more 
liberty. 


1 88  Education.  [§105 

Whatever  the  objections  are,  it  is  certain  that  this  country 
will  take  no  backward  step  relative  to  public  education.  The 
Federal  government  has  made  great  grants  for  the  assistance 
of  schools  and  colleges ;  State  governments  are  constantly  aid- 
ing universities  and  scientific  schools,  and  many  of  them  set 
apart  a  fund  for  the  benefit  of  the  common  schools.  The 
cheerfulness  with  which  the  people  themselves  vote  supplies 
for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  common  and  high 
schools  indicates  that  they  know  the  importance  of  their  chil- 
dren having  the  highest  advantages.  As  against  the  individual- 
ist who  finds  flaws  in  the  public-school  system  there  is  the 
great  mass  of  people  and  all  their  law-making  bodies.  All 
organisations  of  labour,  whether  conservative  or  socialistic  in 
their  tendencies,  insist  upon  the  extension  rather  than  the 
restriction  of  the  public-school  system.  The  probability  is 
that  the  judgment  of  our  best  educators  will  determine  the 
standard  of  education  proper  for  the  public  schools.  While 
they  agree  very  largely  as  to  the  value  and  the  necessity  of  the 
high  school  as  such,  very  many  of  them  have  concluded  that 
the  raising  of  the  standard  in  the  high  schools  of  the  smaller 
cities  and  towns  has  been  perhaps  too  rapid  ;  that  money  has 
been  spent  too  freely  in  some  localities  for  the  purpose  of  fit- 
ting a  few  highly  endowed  young  men  and  women  for  college 
or  for  professional  life,  at  the  expense  of  the  many  in  the  same 
schools  who  must  on  graduation  earn  their  living  in  the  skilled 
trades  or  in  semi-professional  work.  The  question  is  one  that 
will  be  adjusted  through  the  wisdom  of  the  men  charged  with 
the  administration  of  school  affairs,  and  not  through  any 
statutory  provisions. 

106.   The  Normal  School. 

Closely  allied  to  the  high  school  and  to  all  higher  instruc- 
tion are  normal  schools,  institutions  for  the  training  of  teachers  ; 
through  their  means  teachers  are  more  thoroughly  equipped 
in  pedagogic  work,  and  there  is  a  more  thorough  uniformity  in 
methods  as  a  result  of  normal-school  training.  The  number  of 


§107]  Normal   Schools.  189 

students  subjecting  themselves  to  such  training  for  the  express 
purpose  of  equipping  themselves  for  teachers  in  the  various 
institutions  of  the  country  was,  in  1900,  nearly  100,000.  These 
pupils  are  found  in  public  normal  schools  as  such,  established 
for  the  particular  purpose  of  training  teachers  ;  in  private  nor- 
mal schools,  universities,  and  colleges ;  in  public  high  schools 
and  in  private  high  schools.  There  are  172  public  and  134 
private  normal  schools  in  the  country,  while  there  are  1,170 
other  institutions  engaged  in  training  teachers.  In  these 
schools  there  are  28,749  normal  students.  Students  in  State 
normal  schools,  as  a  rule,  are  not  required  to  be  graduates  of 
a  high  school,  but  very  many  of  them  have  been  trained  in 
the  sciences  or  arts  in  seminaries  and  colleges.  The  influence 
of  the  normal  schools  has  been  very  great  in  raising  the 
standard  of  the  common  schools,  especially  those  below  the 
high  school. 

107.  Imperfections  of  the  Public-School  System. 

The  principal  problems  in  this  country  relative  to  the  pub- 
lic-school system  lie  in  the  methods  of  instruction  and  the 
extent  to  which  public  instruction  shall  be  carried.  There  has 
been  a  constant  extension  of  the  field  of  instruction,  shown 
either  in  an  expansion  of  the  curricula  of  the  public  schools, 
or  in  the  removal  therefrom  of  some  of  the  studies  that  were 
formerly  considered  essential  and  the  substitution  of  others, 
usually  such  as  are  considered  more  practical  in  their  bearing. 
The  fact  already  stated  that  nearly  90  per  cent  of  all  the  chil- 
dren passing  through  our  common  schools  drop  out  at  some 
stage  of  the  grammar-school  grade  has  been  a  very  potent  ar- 
gument on  the  part  of  those  who  insist  that  instruction  shall  be 
practical,  so  as  to  enable  the  coming  boys  and  girls  to  acquire 
such  information  as  will  be  helpful  in  their  endeavours  to  be 
self-supporting.  The  result  is  sometimes  an  exaggeration  of 
the  bread-and-butter  value  of  education. 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  difficulty  of  the  system  under 
which  the  great  body  of  children  are  given  instruction  is  in 


1 90  Education.  [§  107 

the  tendency  to  reduce  to  uniformity  the  character  of  instruc- 
tion. The  public  schools,  where  possible,  are  graded;  the 
advantage  of  making  up  classes  of  about  the  same  age  and 
degree  of  advancement  is  obvious ;  but  in  order  to  be  effective 
they  must  be  run  on  the  schedule  plan,  like  the  trains  of  a 
great  railway  system,  —  hours,  lessons,  and  methods  alike  for 
scores  of  children  ;  the  same  number  of  chapters  to  be  accom- 
plished before  the  pupil  can  be  allowed  to  pass  into  a  higher 
grade.  This  unification  is  really  an  attempt  to  adjust  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  instruction  in  each  grade  to  the  average 
capacity.  Those  below  that  capacity  are  always  behind-hand 
in  their  work,  while  the  boy  or  girl  of  superior  capacity  must 
be  held  back.  There  is  no  way  of  fully  overcoming  this  diffi- 
culty, though  it  can  be  obviated  partially  through  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  teachers,  and  a  corresponding  increase  in 
school  expenses,  so  that  classes  may  be  smaller.  In  some  cities 
two  grades  are  systematically  taught  in  the  same  room,  with  a 
system  of  cross  transfers.  It  is  a  very  complicated  problem, 
and  at  present  many  parents  are  convinced  that  they  can 
educate  their  children  more  to  their  minds  by  sending  them  to 
private  schools ;  but  in  such  cases  the  children  lose  the  benefit 
of  the  contests  incident  to  the  public-school  system  and  the 
strengthening  experience  of  association  with  a  variety  of  fellows. 
On  the  whole,  it  is  probable  that  the  public-school  system  ac- 
complishes to  a  marked  degree  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
established,  the  difficulties  and  objections  being  minor,  while 
the  advantages  and  benefits  are  great. 

Many  educators  are  of  the  opinion  —  and  experience  seems 
to  demonstrate  the  soundness  of  the  opinion  —  that  the  best 
grade  of  teachers  should  be  employed  in  the  primary  schools  at 
the  very  beginning  of  the  child's  education.  The  establishment 
of  normal  schools  throughout  the  country  has  done  much 
toward  providing  well-trained  teachers;  but  there  are  two 
stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of  their  employment.  In  some 
places  appointments  of  teachers  go  by  political  favour,  so  that 
an  instructor  may  be  brought  in  whom  no  one  would  think  of 


§io8]  Imperfections.  191 

employing  as  a  nurse-maid ;  and  in  many  parts  of  the  country 
none  but  residents  can  get  schools.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  believe, 
however,  that  in  the  main  the  great  corps  of  teachers  in  the 
United  States,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  grade,  are  men 
and  women  thoroughly  dedicated  to  their  chosen  service,  and 
that  they  are  endeavouring  to  adjust  the  difficulties  which 
grow  constantly  under  a  rapidly  extended  curriculum. 

Among  the  objects  of  educational  reform  to-day  is  the  devjs- 
ing  of  more  individual  methods  of  teaching,  the  good  side  of 
the  famous  "  district  school."  This  end  may  be  gained  by 
methods  of  quick  promotion  for  bright  children,  and  by  sub- 
stituting oral  methods  in  place  of  routine  written  exercises, 
and  thus  to  bring  the  child  into  more  personal  relations  with 
the  teacher  ;  another  is  to  encourage  individual  written  work 
of  various  kinds. 

A  second  improvement  may  be  found  in  the  abandonment 
of  some  of  the  old-fashioned  methods  of  teaching  arithmetic 
and  grammar,  so  as  to  leave  room  for  the  introduction  of 
studies  which  a  few  years  ago  were  not  supposed  to  belong  to 
the  school  curricula.  Science,  especially  in  practical  observa- 
tional forms  ;  rational  geography  ;  history  ;  the  elements  of  art, 
—  such  are  some  of  the  enlivening  new  studies.  Still  further 
eliminations  will  take  place,  giving  room  for  the  substitution  of 
branches  of  study  which  the  child  more  and  more  requires  in 
his  daily  life.  Every  effort  is  made  through  the  action  of 
governments  to  make  the  public-school  system  ever  more 
attractive,  and  thus  enlist  the  attention  and  interest  of  the 
pupil  and  the  parent. 

108.    Compulsory  Education. 

In  most  European  countries  the  State  has  for  one  of  its  func- 
tions the  duty  of  assuring  that  every  child  shall  have  some  kind 
of  formal  education.  In  France  every  private  school  or  tutor 
must  have  an  official  sanction.  The  same  principle  underlies 
what  in  many  of  the  States  are  called  compulsory  education 
laws,  by  which  children  of  school  age  must  attend  the  common 


192  Education.  [§  108 

schools  a  certain  number  of  weeks  in  the  year.  Attendance 
upon  a  private  or  parochial  school,  as  a  rule,  exempts  a  child 
from  the  provisions  of  the  law  as  to  truancy  or  compulsory 
attendance  upon  public  school.  Such  laws  can  be  enforced 
only  through  the  provisions  relating  to  truancy,  but  their 
execution  is  very  unequal  in  the  different  parts  of  the  country 
where  they  exist.  The  critical  question  is,  What  shall  be  done 
wij:h  children  whose  offence  is  simply  that  they  will  not  go  to 
school  ?  Some  States  have  truant  schools,  where  children  who 
are  habitual  truants  are  sent  and  compelled  to  remain  a  certain 
length  of  time ;  others  send  such  children  to  reformatories,  a 
penalty  in  the  nature  of  a  sentence. 

The  principle  of  compulsory  education  is  that,  in  order  to 
maintain  democratic  institutions  successfully  all  persons  must 
have  an  education  comprehending  at  least  the  rudiments  of 
learning.  In  the  few  cases  of  resulting  hardship,  as,  for  in- 
stance, where  a  family  is  very  poor,  or  the  head  of  it  has  died 
and  his  support  and  income  are  gone,  the  wages  of  a  child  of 
proper  age  to  work  may  be  absolutely  essential  to  the  mother 
or  some  relative,  in  order  to  avoid  a  condition  of  pauperism,  or 
at  least  a  condition  of  poverty  which  necessitates  more  or  less 
public  aid,  under  special  exemption  by  law  or  custom.  The 
morality  of  a  system  which  leads  to  such  results  has  often  been 
questioned.  Happily  for  the  general  principles  underlying 
public  education,  such  extreme  instances  are  very  rare  ;  they 
'have  not  been  frequent  enough  to  result  in  any  change  of 
policy. 

Sometimes,  especially  in  large  cities  in  States  where  compul- 
sory laws  exist,  the  difficulty  of  carrying  them  out  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  public  has  not  provided  sufficient  accommodation 
for  the  schooling  of  all  the  children  of  proper  age.  Of  course, 
under  such  conditions  the  laws  cannot  be  enforced,  and  are 
thus  pronounced  to  be  absurd.  In  1894,  about  50,000  school- 
children in  New  York  City  could  not  be  received  because  there 
was  no  room  for  them. 


§109]  Industrial. 


109,  Industrial  Education. 

As  a  balance-wheel  for  the  extreme  tendencies  in  every 
direction  of  the  public-school  system  there  have  been  advocated 
methods  known  under  the  broad  term  "  industrial  education,"  * 
and  covering  several  classes  of  schools  or  sequences  of  instruc- 
tion, ranging  from  the  kindergarten  to  institutes  of  technology. 
It  is  well  to  define  some  of  the  terms  which  must  frequently 
recur  in  any  discussion  of  industrial  education. 

Manual  training  signifies  instruction  in  tool  work  as  an  edu- 
cational discipline.  This  definition  distinguishes  and  differen- 
tiates it  from  trade-school  teaching,  the  sole  or  primary  aim 
of  which  is  to  give  the  apprentice  a  thorough  and  practical 
knowledge  of  some  particular  handicraft.  The  apprentice  may 
incidentally  acquire  much  general  knowledge  while  connected 
with  the  trade  school  ;  but  education  is  not  the  main  end 
sought  in  such  schools,  whereas  under  manual  training  it  is  the 
paramount  object.  In  the  trade  school  the  course  is  of  short 
duration,  and  is  limited  to  a  severe  drill  in  the  theory  and 
practice  of  a  trade,  —  such  as  bricklaying,  stone  masonry,  car- 
pentry, painting,  etc.  In  the  manual-training  school  the  course 
usually  lasts  three  years,  and  comprises  high-school  studies, 
with  manual  practice  in  wood  and  iron  work  as  a  co-ordinate 
branch  of  education. 

The  technical  school  is  a  high-grade  trade  school,  or  a  school 
in  which,  while  a  craft  is  taught,  the  scientific  principles  upon 
which  it  is  grounded  are  also  fully  explained  and  demonstrated 
in  their  applications  to  art  and  industry.  Weaving  schools 
would  come  under  this  classification. 

Institutes  of  technology  are  of  university  rank,  and  their 
courses  of  study  lead  to  a  professional  degree,  generally  to  that 
of  civil,  mining,  or  electrical  engineer. 

Educational  organisation  in  Europe  differs  widely  from  that 
of  the  United  States.  In  several  Continental  States  a  manual- 
training  system,  and  even  trade  and  technical  schools,  are 

1  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Eighth  Annual  Report. 
'3 


194  Education.  [§109 

established  by  law,  and  the  schools  themselves  are  aided  by 
direct  subventions  from  the  government.  In  the  United 
States,  on  the  contrary,  whenever  public  manual-training  schools 
are  founded,  the  work  is  usually  done  by  local  boards,  by 
municipal  authority,  or  by  private  enterprise,  and  the  under- 
taking as  yet  assumes  the  character  of  an  experiment.  Hence 
we  have  no  uniform  system  of  manual  training  in  this  country, 
but  only  a  number  of  independent,  heterogeneous  ventures, 
some  of  which,  however,  have  already  demonstrated  their  right 
to  exist.  There  are,  nevertheless,  several  incorporated  manual- 
training  schools  in  the  United  States,  such  as  those  of  Chicago, 
St.  Louis,  Toledo,  and  Philadelphia,  which  surpass  anything  of 
the  kind  to  be  found  abroad.  In  these  something  more  is 
taught  than  the  use  of  mere  hand  tools.  Machine  tools  for 
wood  and  metal  work  abound,  and  colossal  mechanical  appli- 
ances for  testing  the  strength  of  materials  place  the  American 
equipments  far  above  those  of  the  foreign  schools  of  this  class, 
nor  has  the  Old  World  a  single  institute  of  technology  that 
surpasses  in  comparison  the  best  of  our  own. 

In  respect  to  technical  and  trade  schools,  however,  the  con- 
ditions are,  with  a  few  exceptions,  exactly  reversed.  The 
thoroughness  of  the  European  system  of  trade  and  technical 
teaching  is  proverbial ;  and  the  specialisation  of  their  training 
comprehends  the  minutest  details.  The  dyer  who  learns  his 
art  in  the  Crefeld  laboratories  is  versed  in  all  the  subtle  chem- 
istry of  colours,  and  from  his  knowledge  of  the  composition  of 
fabrics  understands  how  to  compute  to  the  fraction  of  a  pfennig 
the  cost  of  dyeing  a  given  number  of  yards  of  any  colour. 

A  like  thoroughness  characterises  the  instruction  given  in 
the  horological  schools  in  the  great  centres  of  the  watch- 
making industry.  It  is  a  distinguishing  feature  also  of  the 
professional  schools  of  tailoring,  dressmaking,  and  artificial 
flower-making  in  France,  Belgium,  and  Switzerland ;  of  the 
Austrian  wood-carving  and  cabinet-making  schools ;  of  the 
German  schools  for  locksmiths  and  horseshoers,  and  even  of 
the  fishing  schools  of  the  Scandinavian  peninsula. 


§no]  Industrial.  195 

A  few  American  trade  and  technical  schools,  especially  in 
New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  Philadelphia,  take  rank  with  their 
European  prototypes  ;  but  most  of  our  schools  of  this  class  are 
far  inferior  in  respect  to  the  fulness  and  completeness  of  their 
teaching  to  the  foreign  models.  In  our  half-developed  State 
colleges  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  there  is  to  be 
found  the  foundation  for  a  better  system  of  technical  instruc- 
tion than  exists  anywhere  to-day,  and  in  the  establishment  of 
some  of  the  institutes  in  the  cities  one  may  discern  the  promise 
of  future  American  primacy  in  the  industrial  arts. 

The  status  of  industrial  education  in  the  United  States  is 
somewhat  peculiar.  It  is  one  outcome,  as  already  intimated, 
of  the  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  older  methods  of  edu- 
cation and  the  effort  to  make  public  education  more  practical. 
The  same  feeling  has  manifested  itself  in  the  reform  of  the 
college  course  by  reducing  the  amount  of  classical  study  re- 
quired, by  the  introduction  of  elective  courses,  the  adoption 
of  the  seminary  method,  and  the  extension  of  the  laboratory 
method  in  scientific  study.  As  far  as  industrial  education  is 
concerned,  this  movement  made  its  beginning  and  has  reached 
its  highest  development  in  schools  of  a  scientific  or  techno- 
logical character.  From  these  schools  the  movement  has  ex- 
tended through  the  agricultural  colleges  until  it  has  reached 
and  is  now  transforming  the  methods  of  instruction  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  Some  of  the  larger  public  schools  have  carried 
the  experiment  to  success,  and  have  been  eagerly  followed  in 
the  work  by  the  more  ambitious  of  the  smaller  ones.  Several 
States  have  indorsed  the  movement  by  appropriations,  and 
others  by  legislation  permitting  its  adoption  in  public  schools. 

110.   Manual-training  Schools. 

Manual  training  in  the  public  schools  will  be  found  to  have 
been  more  often  the  subject  of  experiment  in  the  northeastern 
States  perhaps  than  anywhere  else.  Massachusetts,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  New  York  seem  to  have  led  in  the  number  of  experi- 
ments, though  it  certainly  cannot  be  said  that  any  single  one 


190  Education.  [§no 

of  these  experiments,  or  the  results  attained  by  any  one,  over- 
shadows in  importance  those  that  have  been  made  in  Balti- 
more, Chicago,  Omaha,  Philadelphia,  or  Toledo.  But  in 
these  States  the  movement  seems  to  have  made  more  progress 
in  the  smaller  cities  and  towns.  In  New  Jersey  the  State  gives 
official  encouragement  by  duplicating  any  sum  between  $500 
and  $5,000  which  may  be  subscribed  or  appropriated,  and  has 
thus  tempted  sqme  of  the  smaller  places  to  give  the  work  a 
trial  where  it  probably  would  not  have  been  thought  of  other- 
wise. In  several  other  States  there  has  been  State  action  in 
the  line  of  permissive  legislation,  either  authorising  taxation  or 
allowing  school  boards  to  take  measures  to  incorporate  manual 
training  with  the  branches  already  taught  in  the  public  schools. 
So  that  whatever  may  have  been  done  in  these  States  is  the 
result  of  local  legislation,  and  may  be  assumed  to  represent 
local  sentiment.  It  may  probably  be  said,  too,  that  if  the 
manual-training  instruction  has  been  retained  in  most  of  these 
places,  it  has  been  from  a  feeling  of  satisfaction  with  the 
results  of  the  trial. 

In  the  South,  notwithstanding  different  conditions,  the  move- 
ment has  made  a  good  deal  of  progress.  The  industrial 
element  has  been  incorporated  in  very  many  of  the  schools 
established  for  the  benefit  of  the  coloured  race.  These  schools 
are  not  generally  of  a  public  character,  though  in  many  cases 
the  State  has  freely  voted  funds  for  their  support.  The  ex- 
penses of  attendance  are  small,  however,  and  frequently  tuition 
can  be  obtained  free  of  charge.  The  schools  usually  offer  in- 
struction for  all  grades,  from  the  preparatory  to  the  technological 
student.  The  normal  and  agricultural  courses  will  be  found 
prominent  features.  The  John  F.  Slater  fund  divides  its  in- 
come of  about  $45,000  among  forty-four  different  schools  for 
the  coloured  race,  and  thus  does  much  to  advance  the  cause 
of  industrial  training.  Whatever  the  result  of  this  training 
upon  the  graduates,  it  offers  to  the  students,  under  the  plans 
adopted  in  many  schools,  the  opportunity  of  paying  in  great 
part  the  expenses  of  their  education  in  work.  Generally  it  is 


§noj  Manual  Training.  197 

not  possible  to  point  to  the  positive  effects  of  industrial  train- 
ing upon  the  occupations  of  the  graduates.  The  demand  for 
teachers  and  ministers  of  the  coloured  race  all  over  the  South 
seems  to  take  up  nearly  all  the  better  and  more  proficient  of 
the  graduates. 

In  the  adaptation  and  application  of  manual-training  prin- 
ciples to  the  needs  of  different  schools  it  often  happens  that 
the  methods  and  extent  of  the  work  are  greatly  modified  by 
varying  local  conditions.  The  lower  public  schools,  for  ex- 
ample, in  whose  curricula  the  new  discipline  is  tentatively  incor- 
porated, cannot  as  a  rule  carry  it  much  beyond  the  elementary 
exercises  of  drawing,  modelling  in  clay,  and  the  simple  manipula- 
tion of  carpentry,  with  plain  sewing  and  cooking.  The  expense 
of  equipment  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  (to  say  nothing  of 
its  inexpediency  from  an  educational  point  of  view)  forbid  the 
further  extension  of  the  experiment,  at  least  outside  of  the 
larger  cities. 

In  the  great  incorporated  manual-training  schools,  like  those 
at  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and  Cambridge,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
more  thorough  course  is  pursued,  including  carpentry,  wood- 
turning,  pattern-making,  cabinet  work,  foundry  work,  forging, 
machine-shop  work,  etc.  The  methods  of  teaching  adopted 
in  these  institutions  are  analogous  to  those  in  vogue  in 
institutions  of  technology  and  other  professional  schools  where 
the  student  acquires  a  knowledge  of  science  not  from  text- 
books merely,  but  from  a  severe  course  of  practice  and  experi- 
mentation in  the  laboratory. 

A  glance  at  some  of  the  ways  in  which  manual  training  has 
been  supported  in  the  public  schools  may  prove  interesting 
and  instructive.  In  Jamestown,  N.  Y.,  where  a  beginning  was 
made  as  early  as  1874,  the  funds  were  for  a  long  time  raised 
by  subscription  and  by  exhibitions  given  by  the  students. 
Even  now,  though  the  city  makes  an  appropriation,  much  of 
the  money  is  raised  in  this  way.  In  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  public 
spirit  has  been  at  the  back  of  the  movement.  An  organisa- 
tion of  the  citizens — the  Hoboken  Industrial  Association  — 


198  Education.  [§no 

started  the  movement,  and,  while  both  the  State  and  city  have 
joined  in  the  support,  has  continued  in  the  management. 
The  State  of  New  Jersey,  as  already  noted,  has  for  several 
years  generously  shared  with  any  town  or  city  complying  with 
certain  conditions  in  the  support  of  manual  training.  At  To- 
ledo the  manual-training  school  was  a  gift  to  the  city.  At 
Baltimore  the  city  has  from  the  first  borne  all  the  expense. 

The  ways  in  which  the  public  schools  offering  manual  train- 
ing distribute  their  benefits  are  various.  For  not  in  all  the 
schools  does  every  pupil  receive  the  benefits  of  the  training. 
On  the  contrary,  the  custom  would  seem  to  be  more  frequently 
the  other  way.  In  Baltimore,  for  example,  the  manual-train- 
ing course  is  a  distinct  high-school  course  which  the  pupil 
must  choose  as  he  would  choose  the  English  or  the  classical 
course.  This  plan  has  come  to  be  a  favourite  one  in  the  organ- 
isation of  manual-training  high  schools  in  the  larger  cities.  In 
Omaha,  on  the  other  hand,  the  manual  training  is  an  exercise 
which  may  be  taken  by  high-school  pupils  in  addition  to  the 
regular  studies.  Going  to  Jamestown  again,  we  find  the  train- 
ing offered  to  certain  selected  students  below  the  high  school 
only ;  while  at  Montclair,  N.  J.,  the  manual  training  work  is 
introduced  in  some  way  to  all  the  grades,  from  the  lowest 
up  to  —  not  into  —  the  high  school.  Washington  goes  a  step 
farther  than  Montclair,  and  offers  manual  training  as  an 
elective  to  high-school  students.  The  plans  in  operation  in 
Washington  schools  provide  for  what  is  probably  the  most 
complete  of  the  systems  of  manual  training  in  the  public 
schools. 

Much  has  been  said  by  the  friends  of  manual  and  trade 
training  relative  to  the  proportionate  time  which  can  be  ad- 
vantageously expended  in  such  training  in  conjunction  with 
academic  work.  The  ardent  friends  of  industrial  education, 
using  the  term  broadly,  insist  upon  it  that,  with  a  reasonable 
time  devoted  to  manual  training  or  trade  instruction,  there  is 
not  only  no  loss  in  book  work,  but  a  positive  gain,  both  in 
amount  and  in  comprehension  of  what  is  studied ;  that  a 


§ui]  Manual  Training.  199 

student  workman  has  his  mental  faculties  sharpened  by  his 
hand  work,  and  that  he  comprehends  all  the  more  quickly  the 
principles  of  mathematics,  for  instance,  through  his  training  in 
physical  and  mechanical  directions.  Though  these  views  are 
matters  of  opinion,  there  is  some  positive  information  which 
leads  to  very  clear  conclusions.  Dr.  Henry  H.  Belfield  of 
Chicago,  in  making  a  report  to  the  United  States  Department 
of  Labour  in  1892,  gave  the  experience  of  English  and  American 
educators,  and  collected  valuable  testimony  regarding  the  com- 
parative quantity  and  quality  of  academic  work  done  by  those 
who  did  and  those  who  did  not  take  the  hand  work.  He  finds 
that  pupils  taking  manual  training  as  a  part  of  their  school 
work  in  the  regular  school  hours  accomplish  as  much  academic 
work  as  pupils  who  devote  the  same  number  of  hours  to  school 
work  without  the  manual  training ;  and  it  was  generally  re- 
marked that  the  larger  the  amount  of  time  given  to  manual 
training,  the  more  marked  the  beneficial  results.  Some  educa- 
tors were  unable  to  say  more  than  that  they  perceived  no 
reduction  in  the  quantity  or  quality  of  academic  work  done ; 
yet  the  large  majority  reported  more  and  better  academic 
work  when  hand  work  was  added.  The  testimony  of  the 
leading  training  schools  in  this  country  is  universally  in  favour 
of  the  opinion  that  manual  training  aids  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  academic  work,  and  that  the  combination  of  mental 
and  manual  work  does  not  diminish  the  amount  of  purely 
academic  work,  provided  the  manual  work  is  held  properly  in 
abeyance.  The  facts  justify  the  conclusion  that  from  one  to 
two  hours  per  day,  according  to  the  age  of  the  pupils  and  the 
character  of  the  work,  can  be  profitably  applied  to  the  manual 
side  of  education.  All  inquiries  on  this  matter  result  in  the 
positive  corroboration  of  the  conclusions  reached  by  Doctor 
Belfield. 

111.  Trade  and  Technical  Schools.1 

Totally  different  from  the  manual  training-schools  in  aims 
and  methods  are  the  institutions  of  a  trade  and  technical 
character.  Where  the  manual-training  school,  as  has  been 

1  U.  S.  Com.  of  Labour,  i;th  Annual  Report,  Trade  Schools. 


2OO  Education.  [§tn 

seen,  aims  at  the  single  educational  purpose  of  directing,  by 
courses  of  mental  and  manual  exercises,  the  development  of 
all  the  powers  of  the  individual,  the  trade  and  technical 
schools  aim  at  such  special  development  as  will  give  a  mastery 
of  some  particular  craft.  Unlike  many  of  the  manual-training 
schools,  none  of  those  for  trade  and  technical  training  are 
parts  of  the  public-school  system;  even  the  aid  of  a  State 
appropriation  has  been  enjoyed  only  by  the  School  of  Indus- 
trial Art  at  Philadelphia.  Trade  schools  are  not  so  numerous, 
nor  their  methods  so  various,  that  even  the  brief  analysis  rela- 
tive to  manual  training  is  necessary  to  make  clear  the  differ- 
ences in  their  aims  or  in  the  work  for  which  they  are 
organised. 

The  first  real  trade  schools  of  the  modern  time  were  estab- 
lished in  New  York  City  in  1881,  when  the  projector  proceeded 
to  put  into  practical  form  his  purpose  of  giving  young  men 
instruction  in  certain  trades,  and  to  enable  young  men  already 
in  trades  to  improve  themselves.  Courses  of  instruction  were 
given  at  very  moderate  charge  in  bricklaying,  plastering, 
plumbing,  carpentry,  house,  sign,  and  fresco  painting,  stone- 
cutting,  blacksmithing,  tailoring,  and  printing.  The  thorough- 
ness of  the  instruction  given  in  each  of  these  trades,  it  is  claimed, 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  For  example,  in  the  bricklaying 
class  the  manual  instruction  will  be  in  building  eight,  twelve,  and 
sixteen  inch  walls ;  in  turning  corners  and  building  walls  inter- 
secting at  different  angles ;  in  building  piers,  arches,  flues, 
fireplaces  ;  in  setting  sills  and  lintels,  etc.  The  scientific  in- 
struction is  upon  the  strength  of  walls,  construction  of  flues, 
thrust  of  arches,  mixing  and  properties  of  mortar,  cement,  etc. 
This  instruction  is  given  by  means  of  lectures  illustrated  by 
experiments  and  by  carefully  prepared  manuals. 

In  the  bricklaying  classes  the  young  men  are  taught  first 
how  to  handle  the  trowel  and  how  to  spread  mortar.  After 
this  they  are  practised  on  eight  and  twelve-inch  walls.  When 
these  can  be  carried  up  plumb  and  the  courses  laid  level,  the 
class  is  put  upon  walls  returned  at  right  angles,  piers,  arches, 


§in]  Trade  and  Technical.  201 

fireplaces,  and  flues.  The  brick  work  is  carried  up  as  high  as 
the  students  can  conveniently  work,  when  it  is  torn  down,  and 
the  bricks  cleaned  to  be  used  again.  Before  an  exercise  is 
commenced  the  instructors  show  how  the  work  is  to  be  done. 
The  young  men  are  then  required  to  practice  under  the  con- 
stant supervision  of  the  instructors  until  they  can  do  their 
work  well. 

There  are  many  technical  schools  that  may  be  called  high- 
grade  trade  schools,  although  they  are  here  and  there  depart- 
ments of  institutes.  They  take  up  branches  of  work  allied  to 
those  conducted  in  the  institutes  of  technology,  although  they 
.do  not  have  the  university  characteristics  of  such  institutes. 
The  studies  of  the  technical  schools,  as  distinguished  from 
trade  schools,  include  instruction  in  watch  and  clock  making, 
mechanical,  electrical,  and  civil  engineering,  mining  and  metal- 
lurgy, domestic  arts,  etc.  Academic  work  is  carried  along, 
and  the  very  best  results  of  educational  systems  are  secured. 

The  necessity  of  this  kind  of  education,  that  to  be  derived 
from  the  technical  schools,  is  great  indeed,  especially  in  a 
country  like  our  own,  where  our  industries  are  coming  into 
competition  with  those  of  every  other  advanced  nation.  With 
technical  and  art  training  our  manufactories  can  compete  with 
those  of  another  country.  Already  the  American  industries 
are  reaping  the  benefit  of  the  establishment  of  technical 
schools,  and  every  effort  that  can  be  made  by  municipal  and 
State  governments  toward  their  perfection  and  the  expansion 
of  their  usefulness  will  meet  with  ample  reward  in  the  increased 
standard  of  our  manufactures.  It  is  one  of  the  hopeful  signs 
of  the  times  that  schools  of  design,  art,  and  drawing,  me- 
chanics' institutes,  schools  of  industrial  art  and  technical 
design  for  women,  textile  schools,  —  everything  of  the  kind,  — 
are  being  established  all  over  the  country. 

A  branch  of  industrial  education  that  has  long  been  neglected 
comprehends  what  Prof.  W.  O.  Atwater,  of  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity, calls  home  science,  —  that  is,  everything  that  relates  to 
the  household.  Cooking  schools  are  being  established  every- 


202  Education.  [§m 

where  in  this  and  in  other  countries.  In  some  of  our  larger 
cities  cooking,  sewing,  and  other  things  relating  to  the  house- 
hold are  taught  in  the  public  schools,  and  with  the  very  best 
results.  But  home  science  involves  something  more  than  the 
teaching  of  cookery  or  sewing ;  it  involves  instruction  in  every 
department  of  home  life,  that  the  housekeeper  may  know  for  a 
certainty  the  character  of  foods,  how  to  cook  them,  those  from 
which  the  greatest  amount  of  nutrition  can  be  secured,  the 
combination  of  foods,  —  everything,  in  fact,  which  will  help  to 
economise  in  the  preparation  of  food  and  at  the  same  time 
make  it  attractive  and  nutritious.  Taste  in  furnishing  the 
table  is  one  of  the  branches  taught  by  home  science.  All 
these  matters  are  taught  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  higher 
standard  of  living  and  improved  sanitary  and  hygienic  condi- 
tions. Their  bearing  on  the  temperance  question  is  of  the 
highest  importance,  for  it  is  beginning  to  be  understood  that 
to  cure  men  of  drink  habits,  tastes  must  be  changed.  The 
Federal  government  is  doing  something  to  aid  this  movement 
of  instruction  in  home  science  through  investigations  as  to  the 
properties  of  food  and  the  quantities  of  each  class  of  food 
necessary  to  secure  certain  results. 

Intermediate  in  grade,  between  the  manual-training  school 
and  the  technological  institute,  are  the  agricultural  colleges  of 
the  United  States.  The  courses  of  study  pursued  in  many  of 
these  institutions  offer  opportunities  for  the  student  in  art  and 
mechanics,  some  of  them  being  very  excellent  training  schools  for 
trades  and  for  fitting  engineers,  as  well  as  for  the  development 
of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  Much  can  still  be  done 
by  the  agricultural  colleges  in  the  direction  of  technical  educa- 
tion. The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  publishes 
complete  lists  of  the  schools  and  colleges  devoted  in  any  way 
to  agricultural  science.  Most  of  these  colleges  have  been 
established  as  a  result  of  grants  from  the  Congress. 

The  highest  technical  institutions  in  which  students  can 
secure  special  education  are  known  as  institutes  of  tech- 
nology. The  studies  of  the  course  in  these  institutes  are  de- 


§iiz]  Technical  Results.  203 

signed  to  secure  to  all  the  graduates  a  professional  preparation 
at  once  thorough  and  practical,  and  the  course  usually  occu- 
pies four  years.  The  object  is  to  train  men  as  engineers  in 
all  grades,  and  in  chemistry,  mathematics,  etc.  Many  of  these 
institutes  take  rank  with  the  very  best  of  the  colleges,  and 
the  courses  are  quite  as  broad  and  varied.  The  standard  of 
these  schools  is  constantly  being  raised,  and  it  becomes  more 
and  more  difficult  for  a  student  to  enter  them.  Manual  train- 
ing and  trade  instruction  constitute  work  auxiliary  to  the  pro- 
fessional courses. 

112.  Results   of  Technical  Education. 

The  beneficent  use  of  manual  training  and  trade  instruction 
in  reformatories  will  be  treated  under  the  chapter  relating  to  the 
defence  of  society  (§§  201,  202)  ;  but  the  effect  of  such  train- 
ing and  instruction  upon  the  individual  may  properly  be  referred 
to  at  this  point,  and  on  this  feature  there  is  abundant  informa- 
tion to  be  found  in  the  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Labour.  It  appears  that  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  graduates  of  trade  schools  in  various  countries 
were  ready  to  begin  work  immediately  on  leaving  school,  with- 
out serving  any  time  as  apprentices ;  and  in  almost  all  cases 
the  employers  prefer  trade-school  graduates  to  those  who  have 
not  had  trade-school  training.  These  students  are  found  to 
be  superior  to  the  ordinary  workman  in  the  use  of  tools  at  the 
beginning  of  their  employment,  as  well  as  in  the  economic 
use  of  materials.  In  planning  and  arranging  work  like  superi- 
ority has  always  been  shown  by  trade-school  graduates,  and  as 
to  the  matter  of  compensation  such  student  workmen  have  the 
advantage.  This  is  also  true  when  the  moral  side  of  the  ques- 
tion is  considered  ;  for  they  give  promise  of  more  intelligent 
work,  they  possess  higher  moral  qualities,  are  better  equipped 
for  the  management  of  men,  and  almost  invariably  work  more 
assiduously  to  secure  the  employer's  welfare,  and  hence  their 
own. 

The  results    of  training  in  sewing  and  cooking  show  con- 


204  Education.  [§112 

clusively  that  those  given  such  training  have  an  increased 
respect  for  manual  labour,  more  independence  of  character, 
possess  more  accuracy  of  thought,  know  better  how  to  use 
materials,  are  better  equipped  for  planning  and  arranging 
work,  and  have  a  much  better  promise  of  future  usefulness. 
They  certainly  possess  more  ability  to  earn  a  livelihood,  and 
are  more  capable  of  efficient  work.  This  is  the  testimony  not 
only  of  teachers  but  of  parents. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to  the  great  advantages  which  the 
graduates  of  institutes  of  technology  have  over  all  others. 
Their  services  are  constantly  sought ;  and  a  man  having  in  his 
possession  a  diploma  from  one  of  such  institutions,  or  a  certi- 
ficate of  proficiency  in  any  one  branch  of  knowledge,  is  very 
sure  to  command  a  situation  which  brings  him  not  only  re- 
sponsibility and  the  opportunity  of  practically  applying  his 
knowledge,  but  also  a  high  salary. 

The  attitude  of  working-men  towards  manual  training,  trade, 
and  technical  schools  individually  is  friendly,  but  more  friendly 
to  manual  training  and  technical  schools  than  to  trade  schools  ; 
for  organised  labour  has  for  one  of  its  principal  tenets  the  regu- 
lation and  restriction  of  the  number  of  persons  who  shall  enter 
particular  trades.  Under  the  apprenticeship  system  the  master 
regulated  the  number  of  apprentices  to  a  large  extent ;  but 
since  that  system  has  become  practically  obsolete,  the  trade 
unions  everywhere  have  insisted  upon  determining  the  number 
of  apprentices  in  specific  trades;  they  are  not  therefore  par- 
ticularly friendly  to  trade  schools  as  such.  Organised  labour 
—  trade  unions  and  other  bodies  —  has  made  no  authoritative 
declaration  on  this  subject ;  labouring  men,  however,  are  en- 
thusiastic supporters  of  educational  systems,  and  believe  in 
common  and  public  instruction  and  an  extension  thereof. 
They  want  children  to  have  the  very  best  general  education 
which  governments  can  secure  for  them  ;  they  know  better  than 
any  one  else  the  advantage  or  prestige  which  is  given  to  a 
child  who  has  been  well  trained  in  the  public  schools. 


§113]  Colleges  and  Universities.  205 

113.    Colleges   and   Universities. 

Colleges  and  universities  are  institutions  which  complete  the 
arch  in  education  ;  historically  they  were  established  before 
the  common  or  public  schools;  but  their  place  in  the  sys- 
tem of  general  education  is  last,  of  course.  The  college  is 
an  institution  of  learning  for  the  orderly  and  systematic  train- 
ing in  all  those  essential  elements  which  belong  to  liberal  and 
professional  culture  ;  the  nature  of  its  work  is  therefore  aca- 
demic, and  does  not  comprehend  the  fitting  of  persons  for 
special  professions  or  callings.  After  young  persons  have  been 
graduated  from  a  college  they  must  seek  their  field  of  life-work, 
and  either  take  a  supplemental  fitting  in  a  special  school,  or 
content  themselves  with  the  academic  training  already  secured. 
As  a  rule,  a  college  is  a  single  institution,  although  there  may 
be  connected  with  it  medical,  law,  theological,  or  scientific 
schools. 

The  university,  as  it  is  understood  in  this  country,  is  an  ad- 
vanced college  for  the  instruction  of  those  who  have  had  the 
idvantage  of  college  training,  and  takes  up  more  original 
research  as  a  part  of  its  curriculum.  The  ideal  university  is 
an  institution  for  post-graduate  work ;  it  is  not  simply  a  group 
of  colleges  ;  but  in  one  sense  it  may  be  a  group  of  colleges  or 
departments,  in  which  the  highest  forms  or  methods  of  instruc- 
tion prevail  for  the  equipment  of  teachers  and  professors.  It 
is  primarily  an  institution  for  the  promotion  of  higher  educa- 
tion by  means  of  instruction  in  the  class-room  and  the  en- 
couragement of  literary  and  scientific  investigation.  The 
designation  of  the  university  has  different  meanings  in  different 
countries ;  but  its  purpose  is  practically  the  same  everywhere. 
University  students  must  be  so  mature  and  so  well  trained  as 
to  exact  from  their  teachers  the  most  advanced  instruction. 
Universities  aim  at  the  accumulation  of  comprehensive  libra- 
ries, expensive  apparatus,  and  they  bring  into  association  all 
those  stimulating  influences  of  great  and  learned  professors 
who  care  more  for  science  than  for  popularity,  and  who  are 
devoted  to  the  discovery  and  revelation  of  truth. 


206  Education.  [§113 

Formerly  —  that  is,  prior  to  this  century — colleges  and 
universities  were  more  or  less  popular  with  the  masses ;  then 
there  came  a  feeling  that  they  were  the  exclusive  possessors,  or 
felt  themselves  to  be  such,  of  learning  and  knowledge,  and 
they  lost,  by  some  practices  peculiar  to  them  in  the  past,  that 
great  public  sympathy  which  is  absolutely  essential  for  their 
preservation  and  extended  usefulness.  Of  late  years,  how- 
ever, this  cord  of  sympathy  has  been  strengthened  through  the 
liberal  methods  of  the  managers  of  great  institutions  of  learn- 
ing in  admitting  in  some  degree  the  public  as  beneficiaries  or 
recipients  of  their  instruction.  The  plan  of  university  ex- 
tension has  done  much  towards  warming  the  public  heart  in 
favour  of  the  higher  institutions  of  learning ;  and  another 
method  is  free  admission  to  those  departments  of  college  and 
university  work  which  can  be  opened  to  the  public.  Lectures 
on  social  economics  and  on  other  subjects  are  in  many  insti- 
tutions open  to  all  persons  who  care  to  attend.  Of  course  the 
highest  estimate  of  the  value  of  college  and  university  work 
exists  among  those  whose  friends  have  been  recipients  of  their 
benefits ;  and,  again,  wealthy  men  who  have  missed  the  en- 
lightening influences  of  college  life  have  felt  it  a  public  duty 
either  to  endow  professorships,  or  to  erect  buildings,  or  to 
establish  a  university  entire.  The  vast  sums  of  money  that 
have  been  given  to  these  institutions  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years  or  more  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  learning  will  be 
fostered  both  by  private  and  by  public  benefactions. 

In  many  parts  of  the  Union  some  of  the  universities  are 
State  institutions,  appropriations  being  made  for  their  establish- 
ment and  maintenance,  which  enable  them  to  carry  on  their 
work  in  the  highest  degree  with  nominal  tuition  fees.  These 
State  universities  offer  advantages  to  young  men  and  women 
who  are  not  so  circumstanced  as  to  enable  them  to  pay  all 
the  expenses  of  a  private  university  or  one  not  endowed  by 
government. 

In  this  country  women  are  now  admitted  as  freely  to  many 
of  the  colleges  and  universities  as  are  men,  and  this  principle 


§  113]          Colleges  and  Universities.  207 

of  co-education  is  extending.  Women  are  receiving  degrees 
through  special  training,  thus  bringing  to  themselves  and  to 
their  calling  in  life  the  highest  benefits  to  be  received  by  any 
one. 

The  number  of  colleges  and  universities,  and  for  both  sexes, 
so  far  as  reports  received  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation for  1900  are  concerned,  is  480,  85  of  which  are  located 
in  the  North  Atlantic  division,  74  in  the  South  Atlantic,  85  in 
the  South  Central,  195  in  the  North  Central,  and  41  in  the 
Western  division.  These  institutions  employ  14,480  professors 
and  instructors,  of  which  number  12,664  are  men  and  1,816 
women.  The  total  number  of  students  in  attendance  was 
161,221.  The  value  of  the  property  owned  by  the  univer- 
sities and  colleges  is  more  than  a  third  of  a  billion  dollars,  the 
total  money  value  of  benefactions  during  the  year  1900  being 
nearly  twelve  millions  of  dollars.  The  whole  number  of  univer- 
sities and  colleges  admitting  women  to  undergraduate  courses 
of  study  is  344,  and  there  are  141  colleges  for  women,  the 
latter  having  2,441  instructors,  and  nearly  48,000  students; 
their  material  equipment  is  valued  at  more  than  seventeen 
millions  of  dollars. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
EMPLOYMENT    OF   WOMEN   AND   CHILDREN. 

114.   References. 

U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Report  on  Working  Women  in  Large 
Cities,  in  Fourth  Annual  Report  ( 1888),  and  Report  on  Work  and  Wages  of 
Men,  Women,  and  Children,  in  Eleventh  Annual  Report  (1895)  >  Carroll  D. 
Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,  chs.xvi.,  xvii. ;  William 
C.  Hunt,  Workers  at  Gainful  Occupations,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour, 
Bulletin  No.  n  (especially  on  employment  of  children,  §  118);  M.  C.  de 
Graffenried  and  William  F.  Willoughby,  Essays  on  Child  Labour,  in 
American  Economic  Association,  Publications,  V.  No.  2;  L.  G.  Powers, 
Some  Unanswered  Questions  concerning  Child  Labour  (paper  read  before 
International  Association  of  Factory  Inspectors,  September,  1897) ; 
Carroll  D.  Wright,  The  Factory  System,  in  United  States  Tenth  Census, 
Report  on  Manufactures,  II.;  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  La- 
bour, Twentieth  Annual  Report,  Part  VII.  ( 1889)  ;  reports  of  various  State 
bureaus  of  statistics  of  labour;  Charlotte  Perkins  Stetson,  Women  and 
Economics  ;  Clara  E.  Collet,  The  Collection  and  Utilization  of  Official 
Statistics  bearing  on  the  Extent  and  Effects  of  the  Industrial  Employment 
of  Women,  in  Royal  Statistical  Society,  Journal,  LXI.  part  ii.  219 
(June,  1898)  ;  Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology,  I.  part  iii.  §§  x., 
xi. ;  Sidney  and  Beatrice  Webb,  Problems  of  l\Iodern  Indttstry,  chs. 
iii.,  iv. ;  the  Forum,  July,  1893  (°n  wages,  §  120),  and  May,  1892  (on  char- 
acter of  working  women,  §  121);  Sarah  Scoville  Whittelsey,  Labour 
Legislation  in  Massachusetts ;  Twelfth  Census,  Report  on  Population, 
Part  II.  (occupations). 

115.  Influence  of  Factories  on  Employment  of  Women  and 
Children. 

Ever  since  the  factory,  or  associated  system  of  labour,  which 
enabled  women  and  children  to  enter  the  ranks  of  general  in- 
dustry, superseded  the  hand  or  domestic  system,  there  has 
been  fear  that  their  employment  would  in  time  cause  the  dis- 
integration of  the  family  and  deterioration  of  the  home.  The 
factory  system  has  now  been  in  practical  operation  more  than 

208 


§115]  Influence  of  Factories.  209 

one  hundred  years.1  It  had  its  beginning  when  cotton  spinning 
and  weaving  by  power  succeeded  the  spinning-wheel  and  the 
hand-loom.  Under  the  previous  domestic  system  women  had 
been  widely  employed,  but  as  an  individual  matter,  and  in  the 
homes  of  the  weavers  and  spinners  ;  hence  they  attracted  little 
attention  from  philanthropists  and  legislators.  But  with  the 
textile  factory  there  came  the  congregation  of  labour,  and  all 
the  conditions  under  which  the  workers  were  employed  be- 
came matters  of  public  attention. 

The  present  century  has  seen  many  hot  contests  in  the 
British  Parliament  over  efforts  to  regulate  the  hours  of  labour 
of  women  and  children  and  to  secure  for  them  better  sanitary 
conditions,  protection  from  injuries  through  machinery,  and 
other  improvements  in  the  conditions  of  their  employment. 
Frequent  Parliamentary  investigations  under  the  direction  of 
the  House  of  Commons  have  pictured  the  hardships  which 
accompanied  the  employment  of  women  and  children  ;  while 
similar  investigations  directed  by  the  House  of  Lords  have 
usually  set  forth  the  other  side,  and  evidence  has  been  brought 
out  to  show  that  the  conditions  were  not  as  bad  as  the  agi- 
tators would  have  the  public  believe.  Wherever  the  factory 
has  been  established,  this  conflict  has  been  carried  on,  but  no- 
where with  such  bitterness  as  in  England,  where  it  was  alleged 
that  the  employment  of  women  and  children  was  a  direct 
menace  to  the  home  and  the  family. 

In  all  this  discussion  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  wretched 
condition  of  this  class  of  workers  under  the  old  domestic  sys- 
tem, where  work  and  living  were  conducted  under  the  same 
roof  or  in  the  same  room,  out  of  ordinary  observation.  Under 
the  factory  system  in  its  first  stages  their  condition  was  little 
better.  The  hours  were  long,  the  strain  great,  and  the  fac- 
tories unhealthy  ;  the  application  of  law  in  removing  unhealthy 
and  dangerous  conditions,  or  at  least  in  modifying  them,  was 
therefore  beneficent ;  but  even  when  unregulated  the  factory 
was  morally  a  vast  improvement  over  the  home  places  of  work. 

1  C.  D.  Wright,  The  Factory  System,  in  United  States  Tenth  Census,  II. 

14 


2io  Working  Women.  [§"5 

Finally  the  principle  became  fixed  in  English  legislation  that 
the  government  had  the  power  to  protect  society  and  the 
family  from  whatever  evils  existed,  and  that  future  generations 
should  not  be  injured  through  the  conditions  under  which 
women  were  asked  to  work. 

In  the  Continental  countries,  as  the  factory  became  a  fixed 
institution,  writers  borrowed  the  English  complaints,  and  ap- 
plied them  to  their  own  conditions.  Le  Play,  in  his  "  Organi- 
sation of  Labour,"  saw  in  the  employment  of  women  a  loss  of 
respect,  and  consequently  a  menace  to  virtue  and  family  life. 

The  establishment  of  the  textile  factory  in  America  in  the 
first  quarter  of  the  present  century  did  not  lead  to  the  general 
complaints  that  were  made  in  England,  chiefly  because  the 
proprietors  of  our  factories  profited  by  the  experience  of  Eng- 
lish proprietors,  and  built  better  factories,  employed  a  higher 
class  of  labour,  and  paid  much  better  wages.  Notwithstanding 
this,  there  was  much  to  be  remedied  in  the  American  system, 
especially  in  the  long  hours  of  labour,  —  from  thirteen  to  four- 
teen per  day,  —  and  efforts  were  made  to  reduce  them. 

The  employment  of  women  and  children,  then,  becomes  a 
matter  closely  connected  with  the  questions  of  the  family, 
and  the  extent  to  which  such  employment  has  been  carried 
and  the  conditions  surrounding  it  are  matters  belonging  to 
practical  sociology.  Women  and  children  have  always  been 
employed,  but  now  in  such  increasing  proportion  as  to  cause  a 
new  fear  that  they  are  displacing  men  and  encroaching  upon 
the  ability  of  the  head  of  the  family  to  support  it. 

116.   The  Influence  of  Law. 

The  general  occupations  of  women  and  children  may  be 
ascertained  by  reference  to  the  tables  on  occupations  con- 
tained in  the  reports  of  the  Eleventh  Census  to  which  more 
critical  attention  will  be  called  when  discussing  other  ques- 
tions relating  to  the  labour  system.  At  present  we  will  con- 
fine our  attention  to  the  numbers,  conditions,  and  wages  of 
working  women  and  children.  Wherever  the  textile  factory 


§n6]  Influence  of  Law.  21 1 

exists,  or  other  manufactures  needing  light  labour,  legislators 
have  considered  women  and  children  the  wards  of  the  State, 
for  whose  benefit  special  legislation  was  justifiable.  Accord- 
ingly, laws  have  fixed  the  maximum  hours  of  labour  at  which 
women  and  children  may  be  employed  per  day  or  per  week. 
Another  frequent  object  of  legislation  is  the  age  under  which 
children  or  young  persons  cannot  be  employed ;  the  underly- 
ing idea  is  that  children  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  stunting 
and  dwarfing  influences  of  confinement  in  workshops,  and  that 
they  should  attend  school  and  become  fitted  for  future  useful- 
ness. The  age  limit  varies  in  different  States  ;  but  as  a  rule  the 
laws  provide  that  no  child  shall  be  employed  under  ten  years 
of  age,  and  that  those  from  ten  to  fifteen  must  have  a  certain 
number  of  weeks  of  schooling  every  year. 

The  statistics  of  the  occupations  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  as  gathered  at  the  censuses,  exclude  all  persons  under 
ten  years  of  age  ;  we  have  statistics  of  the  number  of  females 
employed  over  that  age,  and  the  classification  of  their  occupa- 
tions. In  1870  the  total  number  of  persons  (proprietors,  salaried 
people,  and  wage-workers)  engaged  in  some  gainful  occupation 
was  12,505,923  ;  of  these  the  females  were  1,836,288,  or  nearly 
one-tenth  of  the  total  female  population,  and  one-seventh  of 
the  total  number  of  females  ten  years  of  age  and  over.  In 
1900  the  similar  figures  for  the  mainland  were  :  all  persons, 
29,074,117;  females,  5,319,912,  or  over  one-eighth  of  the 
total  female  population,  and  over  one-sixth  of  the  females  ten 
years  of  age  and  over. 

The  distinction  of  sex  in  occupations  was  not  made  in  the 
censuses  prior  to  1870.  In  that  year  the  number  of  females 
ten  years  of  age  and  over  employed  in  agriculture,  fisheries, 
and  mining  was  397,049,  or  2.84  per  cent  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  females  of  the  age  given;  in  1900  there  had  been  an 
increase,  the  number  being  979,163,  or  3.4  per  cent.  In 
professional  service,  however,  the  proportion  of  females  in- 
creased from  92,257  in  1870,  or  .66  of  i  per  cent,  to  430,576 
in  1900,  or  1.52  percent.  In  domestic  and  personal  service 
the  number  of  females  was,  in  1870,  973,157,  or  6.97  per  cent, 


212  Working  Women.  [§  n6 

and  2,095,449,  or  7.41  per  cent,  in  1900.  The  number  en- 
gaged in  trade  and  transportation  was  insignificant  at  both  the 
dates;  but  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries  the 
increase  is  more  marked,  the  number  being  for  the  first  year 

353>997>  or  2-53  Per  cent>  and  m  *9°°,  i,3i3>204,  or  4-65  per 
cent. 

117.   Occupations  of  Women. 

The  increase  in  the  proportion  of  females  to  the  whole  num- 
ber of  persons  engaged  in  some  of  the  other  principal  subdi- 
visions of  occupations  is  more  startling.  Women  artists  and 
teachers  of  art  increased  from  10.10  per  cent  of  the  total  in 
1870  to  44.3  per  cent  in  1900.  There  has  also  been  a  very 
great  increase  in  music-teachers  ;  and  in  book-keepers,  clerks, 
and  saleswomen,  the  rise  being  from  3.47  per  cent  in  1870  to 
21  per  cent  in  1900;  in  telegraph  and  telephone  operators 
from  4.27  per  cent  to  30.1  per  cent  in  1900. 

Percentages  of  small  quantities  are  less  clear  than  special 
statements.  The  census  of  1870  recorded  but  one  architect 
among  the  women  of  this  country,  while  100  were  found 
in  1900.  The  increase  of  numbers  of  artists  and  teachers  of 
art  was  from  412  in  1870  to  11,021  in  1900.  There  were 
no  women  among  the  chemists,  assayers,  and  metallurgists 
in  1870;  while  the  enumerators  in  1900  found  248.  There 
were  67  preachers  in  1870,  and  3,373  in  1900.  Dentistry  has 
also  attracted  women,  and  while  there  were  but  24  in  this  oc- 
cupation in  1870,  there  were  786  in  1900.  Women  are  also 
entering  the  field  occupied  by  designers  and  draughtsmen, 
there  being  941  in  these  occupations  in  1900  against  13  in 
1870.  In  1900  there  were  84  women  engaged  as  engineers 
and  surveyors,  while  there  were  none  so  employed  in  1870. 
In  the  journalistic  field  the  number  rose  in  the  thirty  years 
from  35  to  2,193,  and  the  number  of  lawyers  increased  from  5 
to  1,010.  Musicians  and  teachers  of  music  numbered  among 
the  women  5,753  in  1870,  while  in  1900  there  were  52,359. 
The  female  government  officials,  including  national,  State, 
county,  city,  and  town  governments,  rose  from  414  in  the 


§  1 1?]  Occupations.  213 

former  to  8,119  m  the  latter  period;  while  among  physicians 
and  surgeons  there  was  a  like  increase  of  women,  it  being  from 
527  in  1870  to  7,387  in  1900. 

The  occupation  of  teacher  has  been  among  the  most  attrac- 
tive, for  in  1870  the  women  numbered  84,047,  and  in  1900 
327,614,  the  latter  number  including  professors  in  colleges  and 
universities.  The  latest  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion states  that  of  the  whole  number  of  public-school  teachers 
in  the  United  States  69.7  per  cent,  and  in  some  of  the  New 
England  States  more  than  91  per  cent,  are  women. 

Women  have  made  very  great  inroads  among  book-keepers 
and  accountants,  including  clerks  and  copyists;  for  in  1870 
the  number  engaged  in  these  lines  was  8,016,  while  in  1900  it 
was  159,399.  Typewriters  were  not  known  in  1870,  at  least 
not  to  a  sufficient  extent  to  be  considered  in  the  census  of 
that  year,  although  seven  short  hand  writers  were  returned ; 
but  of  the  stenographers  and  typewriters  in  1900,  86, 118  were 
women.  The  number  of  saleswomen  so  enumerated  in  1870 
was  2,775,  to  which  should  be  added  several  thousand  clerks 
in  stores;  it  was  149,230  in  1900. 

The  object  in  stating  these  detailed  figures  is  to  present  the 
evidence  that  women  are  gaining  in  their  occupations,  and, 
further,  that  the  proportion  of  females  in  all  occupations  fol- 
lowed is  gradually  increasing,  so  that  women  are  to  some  extent 
entering  into  places  at  the  expense  of  the  males.  A  closer  study 
of  all  the  facts,  however,  shows  that  women  are  more  generally 
taking  the  places  of  children  ;  for,  compared  with  20  years  ago, 
the  number  of  children  in  manufactures  has  decreased,  and  in 
many  classes  they  have  been  altogether  excluded,  and  adult 
women  have  to  some  extent  come  in.  There  need  not  be  any 
alarm,  therefore,  as  to  the  encroachments  of  women  upon  the 
occupations  held  by  men. 

During  the  last  fifty  years  there  have  been  many  occupations 
opened  to  men  that  were  not  known  before.  This  has  been 
the  result  of  the  development  of  transportation  and  the  appli- 
cation of  inventions  to  industry.  Railroad  construction  and 


214 


Working  Women. 


[§"7 


operation  opened  an  exceedingly  wide  field  that  has  been  oc- 
cupied almost  exclusively  by  men ;  while  all  the  inventions  for 
the  utilisation  of  electricity  have  opened  still  greater  opportu- 
nities, in  which  women  have  not  met  with  much  opportunity, 
the  men  holding  the  field.  So,  as  men  have  stepped  out  of 
their  old  employments  invention  has  opened  paths  for  new 
occupations.  It  can  hardly  be  correct,  therefore,  to  say  that 
women  are  really  hurting  the  chances  of  men  in  business ;  for, 
on  the  whole,  the  encroachment  is  slight,  as  has  been  shown. 
In  special  places  of  employment,  like  those  of  book-keepers, 
stenographers,  clerks  in  business  houses,  etc.,  there  is  un- 
doubtedly an  encroachment  that  has  injured  the  opportunities 
of  men  to  support  themselves  and  their  families.  Whether  the 
men  who  have  been  crowded  out  have  been  able  to  secure 
equally  good  positions  in  other  directions  is  a  question  that 
cannot  be  determined  easily  by  the  statistical  method. 

118.   Number  of  Children  employed. 

Turning  now  to  the  statistics  relating  to  the  number  of  chil- 
dren employed  during  the  different  years,1  it  is  found  that 
since  1880  there  has  been  a  slight  increase  in  the  number  and 
proportion  of  children  at  work,  but  greater  increase  has  been 
prevented  by  a  combination  of  causes,  among  which  may  be 
named  the  common-school  system,  the  growth  of  public  senti- 
ment against  the  employment  of  young  children  in  any  capa- 


1  Census  Years  and  Classification  of  Ages. 

Males. 

Females. 

Total. 

1870. 

Total  children  10  to  15  years  of  age,  inclusive 
Number  of  above  at  work  
Per  cent  of  above  at  work  

2,840,200 
548,064 
19.30 

2,764,169 
191,100 
6.91 

5,604,369 
739,  l64 
13-19 

1880. 

Total  children  10  to  15  years  of  age,  inclusive 
Number  of  above  at  work  
Per  cent  of  above  at  work  

3.376,"4 
825,187 
24-44 

3,273i369 
293.169 
8.96 

6,649,483 
1,118,356 
16.82 

1900. 

Total  children  10  to  15  years  of  age,  inclusive 
Number  of  above  at  work  
Per  cent  of  above  at  work  

4.860,086 
1,267,403 
26  07 

4,767.374 
487,807 
10  23 

9,627,460 
1,755,210 
18.23 

§119]  Children  Employed.  215 

city,  the  desire  of  parents  to  give  their  children  a  better  chance 
than  they  had  themselves,  and  the  action  of  law.  A  fairly 
close  approximation  to  the  real  facts  can  be  secured  from  the 
statistics  on  page  214,  according  to  which  it  is  seen  that  in 
1870,  13.19  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  children  ten  to 
fifteen  years  of  age,  inclusive,  were  at  work;  in  1880,  16.82 
per  cent,  and  in  1900,  18.23.  The  increase  in  the  total  num- 
ber of  such  children,  between  1880  and  1900,  was  44.78  per 
cent,  while  the  increase  in  the  number  of  children  at  work  was 
56.94  per  cent.  In  1870  the  percentage  of  children  of  the 
total  number  of  persons  employed  in  manufacturing  was  5.58, 
while  in  1900  it  was  only  3.16. 

Between  1880  and  1890  the  number  of  children  ten  to  fif- 
teen years  of  age,  inclusive,  at  work  was  reduced  from  1,1 18,356 
to  860,786.  This  was  a  very  gratifying  result,  but  during  the 
last  few  years  the  great  industrial  progress  in  the  South  has 
brought  a  large  number  of  children  into  various  occupations. 
This,  as  one  element,  accounts  for  the  slight  increase  in  the 
percentages  between  1880  and  1900.  Law  and  custom  will 
in  time  correct  this  condition. 

That  children  should  be  busy  no  one  will  deny,  and  many 
thousands  of  boys  and  girls  have  home  tasks,  and  are  doing 
the  world  service.  The  "  child  labour  "  problem  is,  however, 
simply  that  of  keeping  down  the  number  of  those  who  shall 
enter  upon  the  toil  in  which  their  lives  are  to  be  spent  before 
they  have  a  common-school  education,  and  before  their 
muscles  are  set  and  their  frames  knit  up. 

119.     Wages  of  Women  and  Children. 

Average  earnings  are  very  difficult  to  ascertain  ;  the  problem 
is  complicated  by  "store  pay,"  shut-downs,  short  time,  fines, 
team,  and  piece  work,  etc.  In  the  census  of  1900  the  average 
annual  earnings  of  men  in  mechanical  and  manufacturing  indus- 
tries are  stated  at  $490.60  ;  the  earnings  of  children  are  given  by 
same  authority  as  $152.18,  and  of  women  $272.04  per  annum. 

How  far  women  receive  the  lower  scale  of  wages  for  pre- 
cisely the  same  work  cannot  be  accurately  determined.  Men 


216  Working  Women.  [§  :I9 

clerks  in  manufacturing  establishments,  1900,  averaged  $957.16, 
and  $414.57  for  women  clerks;  but  in  the  factories  women 
often  have  work  requiring  less  muscular  effort;  at  any  rate, 
women  in  general  have  a  low  scale  of  wages. 

According  to  the  Massachusetts  census  of  1895,  of  the  whole 
number  of  females  employed  in  manufactures  in  that  State  for 
whom  classified  weekly  wages  were  reported,  a  little  over  one- 
fourth  received  less  than  $5  per  week;  less  than  one- fifth,  $5, 
but  under  $6  per  week;  nearly  one-half,  $6,  but  under  $10 
per  week;  while  only  about  one-fourteenth  received  over  $10 
per  week. 

A  study  of  the  reasons  why  women  receive  such  small  com- 
pensation would  lead  one  far  back  into  the  history  of  the  race. 
She  has  been  under  social,  political,  and  intellectual  subjection 
for  centuries,  and  only  recently  has  she  been  winning  justice 
and  recognition.  She  has  achieved  her  right  to  an  education 
and  to  the  development  of  her  intellectual  powers ;  but  indus- 
trially she  has  not  acquired  a  prominent  economic  position. 
From  being  the  property  of  man,  when  she  was  a  drudge 
merely,  she  has  become  a  social  factor,  and,  with  the  use  of 
machinery,  in  some  degree  an  economic  factor.  We  need  not 
discuss  her  entrance  into  the  field  of  literature,  of  art,  and  of 
professional  work ;  in  these  she  makes  her  way,  and  receives 
fair  remuneration.  She  has  been  crowding  man  to  some  ex- 
tent, as  already  stated,  but  only  as  he  has  stepped  up  into  higher 
occupations,  —  those  which  have  come  in  as  new  callings  in 
life,  and  in  which  men  have  received  comparatively  higher 
compensations  than  women  in  the  old  occupations  men  pre- 
viously occupied.  Women  have  occupied  the  positions  of 
book-keepers,  telegraphers,  and  many  of  the  semi-professional 
callings,  and  as  they  have  occupied  them  men  have  entered 
higher  callings,  —  engineering  of  various  classes,  and  other 
spheres  of  life  that  were  not  known  when  women  first  entered 
the  industrial  field.  So,  as  women  have  progressed  from  entire 
want  of  employment  to  employment  which  pays  a  few  dollars 
per  week,  men  too  have  progressed  in  their  employments  and 
occupied  entirely  new  fields. 


§120]  Wages.  217 

120.  Reasons  for  Low  Wages  paid  Women. 

There  are  potent  and  logical  reasons  why  women  are  em- 
ployed at  the  low  rates  named  which  cannot  be  overcome  by 
any  considerations,  eifher  social  or  economic  or  legislative, 
and  they  account  fairly  well  for  the  present  status  of  affairs 
relative  to  women's  earnings.1 

First,  in  stepping  out  of  industrial  subjection  and  general 
subjection  to  man,  woman  comes  into  the  industrial  system  of 
the  present  as  an  entirely  new  economic  factor ;  the  result  being 
that  the  pressure  to  secure  positions  in  that  field  has  created  a 
supply  altogether  out  of  proportion  to  the  demand ;  so  that 
her  remuneration  is  within  the  power  of  the  employer.  This 
alone  is  quite  sufficient  to  keep  her  wages  at  a  low  scale. 

Second,  woman  occupies  a  lower  economic  plane,  which  is 
caused  to  some  extent  by  a  lower  standard  of  activity,  both  in 
physical  features  and  in  mental  demands.  She  is  also  the 
victim  of  the  influence  of  the  assistance  which  she  receives  in 
a  large  proportion  of  cases  from  her  family  and  friends,  and 
which  lowers  her  economic  standard. 

Third,  she  receives  low  wages  through  an  insufficient  equip~ 
ment  for  life-work,  which  is  not  the  result  of  incapacity  of 
mind  or  lack  of  skill,  but  is  due  largely  to  the  hope  that  the 
permanence  of  work  will  be  interrupted  by  matrimony.  She 
does  not  feel  warranted  in  spending  years,  if  required,  in 
equipping  herself  for  the  best  service  ;  and  this  is  true  to  some 
extent  in  the  higher  grades  of  employment  now  sought  by 
woman.  She  has  not  the  responsibilities,  either  of  family  or  of 
society,  to  lead  her  ambition  to  secure  the  best  results,  and  she 
is  not  therefore  stimulated  by  the  powerful  forces  which  stimu- 
late a  man  to  do  his  best  in  whatever  line  he  finds  his  life  cast. 

Fourth,  woman  has  lacked  so  far  the  influence  which  comes 
from  combination  and  association.  She  works  in  an  individual 
capacity,  and  with  the  weakness  of  individual  effort.  Further- 
more, she  has  not  been  a  political  factor  in  society,  and  has 

1  Forum,  July,  1892. 


2i 8  Working  Women.  [§120 

been  dependent  on  the  influence  of  men  generally  too  selfish 
to  be  of  any  practical  benefit  to  her.  This  position  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  movements  in  England  and  in  this  country 
to  reduce  the  hours  of  labour.  Long  before  any  legislation 
took  place  fixing  the  hours  in  certain  industries  at  ten  or  less, 
in  those  industries  where  men  solely  or  principally  were  em- 
ployed the  hours  of  labour  had  been  ten  or  less.  It  took  legis- 
lation, positive  enactment,  and  the  power  of  government  to 
bring  the  hours  of  labour  of  women  and  children  to  an  equality 
with  those  of  men. 

121.  Moral  Character  of  Working  Women. 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  that  arises  is,  How  has 
woman's  moral  and  intellectual  condition  been  changed  by  her 
new  industrial  environment?1  That  she  is  intellectually  better 
off  now  there  is  no  question.  The  factory  has  simplified 
labour,  and  thus  enabled  a  comparatively  ignorant  class  to 
perform  the  work  ;  but  it  has  raised  this  comparatively  ignorant 
class  to  a  higher  intellectual  plane  ;  while  it  cannot  be  shown 
that  it  has  caused  women  of  higher  intellectual  development 
to  degenerate  from  their  former  standard. 

In  the  Eastern  States  we  have  seen  the  gradual  changes  in 
fifty  years  of  three  nationalities  of  factory  employees.  The 
American  girl  —  the  daughter  of  the  farmer  in  New  England 
or  the  Middle  States  —  was  formerly  found  in  the  textile  fac- 
tories. She  gave  place  to  the  English  girl,  and  the  English 
girl  in  turn  to  the  Irish  operative.  The  Irish  operative  has 
gradually  given  place  to  the  French-Canadian,  and  many 
Swedes  are  now  taking  their  places  at  the  looms  and  before  the 
spinning  frames.  Successively  each  has  stepped  up  in  the 
scale  of  civilisation  and  in  the  improved  conditions  of  her 
environment.  Irish  girls  are  now  found  in  our  great  stores, 
—  bright,  keen  saleswomen.  The  daughters  of  scrubwomen, 
having  received  an  education  in  our  public  schools,  become 
ambitious  to  occupy  places  that  none  of  their  ancestors  ever 
1  Forum,  May,  1892. 


§  i2i]  Moral  Character.  219 

knew ;  while  in  the  higher  lines  of  work  the  opening  of  uni- 
versities and  colleges  and  the  higher  institutions  of  learning 
has  enabled  women  to  become  equipped  for  the  best  profes- 
sional employment.  According  to  the  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  for  1899-1900,  there  are  344  universities 
and  colleges  in  this  country  which  admit  women  to  under- 
graduate courses.  Without  industrial  prosperity  and  the  men  - 
tal  stimulation  which  has  come  through  active  remunerative 
employment,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these  great 
opportunities  could  not  have  been  opened. 

With  reference  to  moral  conditions,  the  popular  impression  is 
that  women  wage-workers  are  not  up  to  the  standards  prevalent 
under  the  old  hand-system  of  labour,  and  that  her  entrance  into 
the  industrial  field  has  lowered  her  moral  standard  ;  and  the 
statement  is  constantly  made  that  low  wages  naturally  compel 
women  to  supplement  their  earnings  by  an  immoral  life. 

Those  who  know  the  circumstances  best  are  convinced  that 
this  view  is  absolutely  false,  and  that  the  working  women  of 
this  or  any  other  civilised  country  are  upon  as  high  a  plane  of 
purity  as  any  class  in  the  community.  The  results  of  an 
investigation  in  1881  into  the  conditions  surrounding  factory 
life  in  this  country  and  in  Europe  proved  that  the  charge  that 
the  factory  promoted  immorality  and  swelled  the  criminal  lists 
was  unfounded.  In  Manchester,  England,  a  large  cellerage 
population  formerly  existed,  and  was  erroneously  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  factory,  and  which  continually  swelled  the  list 
of  criminals.  That  population  belonged  rather  to  the  miserable 
hovel  tenantry  outside  the  factory  workers.  It  was  a  mistake, 
however,  to  take  Manchester,  which  is  not  a  purely  factory 
town,  as  the  criterion  by  which  to  judge  the  factory  system  ; 
and  from  this  mistake  the  idea  became  fixed  in  the  minds  of 
writers  that  the  factory  was  responsible  for  many  immoral 
phases  of  life. 

An  extensive  investigation  of  the  criminal  records  of  a  large 
number  of  British  factory  towns  disclosed  the  fact  that  neither 
the  ranks  of  the  immoral  nor  the  criminal  classes  were  increased 


22O  Working  Women.  [§121 

to  so  great  an  extent  from  the  factory  population  as  from  other 
classes.  It  has  been  clearly  shown  by  official  returns  from  the 
penitentiary  of  Manchester  that  only  eight  out  of  fifty  immoral 
women  came  from  the  factory ;  while  twenty-nine  out  of  fifty 
came  from  domestic  service. 

The  facts  that  have  been  collected  should  dispel  the  impres- 
sion that  the  bulk  of  the  crime  of  manufacturing  towns  comes 
from  the  factory.  It  is  true  that  the  new  system  of  industry, 
by  securing  a  better  competency,  fights  bad  instincts  with  the 
very  best  weapons,  —  the  interests  of  those  it  employs.  In 
large  towns  the  factories  have  had  to  contend  with  all  the  nui- 
sances which  a  rapid  increase  of  population  beyond  the  due 
limits  of  accommodation  must  necessarily  produce.  Notwith- 
standing the  poor  material  with  which  the  factory  system  often 
has  to  deal,  the  contest  for  civilisation  is  progressing  success- 
fully through  its  influence  ;  and  when  the  power  of  moral  forces 
is  universally  recognised  in  the  conduct  of  industrial  enterprises, 
the  ratio  of  arrests  among  factory  workers  of  the  whole  number 
of  arrests  will  be  very  much  less  than  it  is  now. 

Turning  more  specifically  to  the  question  of  the  immorality 
of  women,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  regular  employment 
is  conducive  to  regular  living,  and  that  regular  employment 
does  not,  as  a  rule,  harmonise  with  a  life  of  immorality  and 
intemperance,  or  even  of  crime.  The  factory  women  of  this 
country  and  of  Europe  will  compare  favourably  in  respect  to 
chastity  with  the  women  of  any  other  class.  A  factory  girl 
whose  character  is  not  good  usually  finds  herself  in  an  atmos- 
phere uncongenial  at  first,  and  finally  so  chilling  that  she  leaves 
the  establishment.  What  there  is  in  factory  employment  that 
is  not  in  other  employments  which  should  tend  to  an  unchaste 
life  it  is  difficult  to  understand.  The  few  statistics  that  have 
been  collected  but  emphasise  this  position,  and  happily  sup- 
plement the  results  of  the  investigations  just  referred  to. 

In  1884  a  careful  official  inquiry  was  made  into  the  condi- 
tion of  the  working  women  of  the  city  of  Boston.1  The  result 
1  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour,  Report,  1884. 


§i2i]  Moral  Character.  221 

was  as  emphatic  as  that  reached  in  the  investigation  of  1881 
involving  many  cities  and  towns  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 
The  testimony  of  the  police  of  Boston  was  very  gratifying,  and 
was  fully  expressed  by  a  captain  of  police  when  he  said  that 
people  who  charged  the  working  women  with  unchastity  did 
not  know  what  they  were  talking  about.  All  the  officers  con- 
sulted during  the  investigation  gave  similar  testimony.  The 
conclusion  of  that  investigation  was  that,  so  far  as  their  moral 
condition  was  concerned,  the  working  women  of  the  city  of 
Boston  were  making  a  heroic,  honest,  and  virtuous  struggle  to 
earn  an  honourable  livelihood,  and  that  it  was  rare  that  one  of 
them  could  be  found  leading  an  improper  life.  The  fact  that 
here  and  there  a  girl  forsakes  the  path  of  virtue  and  leads  a 
sinful  life  should  not  be  used  to  the  detriment  of  the  class  to 
which  she  belongs.  It  is  easy  to  be  good  on  a  sure  and  gen- 
erous income ;  but  it  requires  the  strongest  character  to  enable 
one  to  be  good  on  an  unstable  income  of  five  dollars  per  week. 

Another  official  investigation,  made  in  i888,x  into  the  char- 
acter, surroundings,  and  conditions  of  working  women  in 
twenty-two  of  the  large  cities  of  the  United  States,  compre- 
hending information  relating  to  3,866  fallen  women,  showed 
that  a  large  proportion  of  them  (1,155)  came  fr°m  house- 
work and  hotel  work  ;  the  next  largest,  so  far  as  occupation  is 
concerned,  was  505,  from  the  ranks  of  seamstresses,  dress- 
makers, and  employees  of  cloak  and  shirt  factories ;  while 
1,236,  or  31.97  per  cent  of  the  whole  number,  came  directly 
from  their  homes.  Nor  did  the  investigation  show  that  the 
employers  of  labour  were  guilty  of  reducing  their  employees  to 
the  condition  of  unchastity,  as  is  often  alleged. 

Testimony  of  capable  and  honest  women  —  of  heads  of  de- 
partments in  great  stores  and  millinery  establishments  and 
shops,  forewomen  of  shops,  and  matrons  of  homes,  and  of  all 
those  best  informed  and  in  the  best  position  to  give  testimony 
on  this  point  —  is  that  the  working  women  are  as  respectable, 
as  moral,  and  as  virtuous  as  any  class  of  women  in  the  country. 
1  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Fourth  Annual  Report. 


222  Working  Women.  [§121 

Of  course  there  are  exceptions  in  this  class,  as  in  all  others ; 
but  the  grand  fact  must  stand  out  plainly  that  industry  cannot 
be  burdened  with  a  charge  that  falls  in  other  directions,  so  far 
as  the  charge  has  any  basis  upon  which  it  may  rest. 

122.   Employment  of  Married  Women. 

The  fear  that  the  family  is  menaced  arises  from  the  impres- 
sion that  a  large  proportion  of  the  women  employed  in  manu- 
facturing establishments  are  married,  and  that  the  home  is 
thus  deprived  of  the  care  of  the  wife  and  mother.  The  facts 
themselves  dissipate  this  fear.  Of  those  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture, fisheries,  and  mining,  22.51  per  cent  are  married;  in 
professional  service,  6.94  per  cent ;  in  domestic  and  personal 
service,  12.84  per  cent;  in  trade  and  transportation,  7.39 
percent;  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries,  10.68 
per  cent  are  married,  79.05  per  cent  are  single  or  their  con- 
jugal condition  unknown,  while  9.35  are  widows.  These  pro- 
portions are  borne  out  by  the  Federal  census  of  1890  and 
various  independent  investigations,  —  all  of  which  show  that 
about  ten  per  cent  or  a  little  over  of  the  women  employed  in 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries  are  married. 

There  are  evils  connected  with  the  employment  of  married 
women  in  factories  which  may  be  removed  by  legislation,  and 
the  attempt  has  been  made  here  and  there.  It  would  be  well 
of  course  if  industrial  conditions  were  such  that  the  head  of 
the  family  could  always  earn  enough  to  support  all  its  mem- 
bers; but  misfortune  and  various  causes  have  brought  married 
women  into  workshops.  They  contribute  to  the  support  of  the 
home,  and  by  the  employment  of  children  the  family  income 
is  increased.  Probably  every  right-minded  person  will  wel- 
come the  day  -when  neither  married  women  nor  young  chil-, 
dren  are  found  in  any  of  our  industrial  establishments. 
Notwithstanding  this  view,  the  present  condition  is  better 
than  the  old  one,  under  which  only  a  few  families  could  earn 
their  own  full  support. 


Part  V. 

The  Labour  System. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 
OLD   AND   NEW    SYSTEMS    OF   LABOUR. 

123.    References. 

Carroll  D.  Wright,  The  Factory  System,  in  United  States  Tenth  Census 
(1880),  Reports  on  Manufactures,  II.;  United  States  Twelfth  Census 
(1902),  Report  on  Population,  Part  II.;  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statis- 
tics of  Labour,  Historical  Review  of  Wages  and  Prices,  1752-1883,  and 
Report  on  Sunday  Labour  in  Sixteenth  Annual  Report  (1885) ;  The  Un- 
employed, in  Reports  of  1879  and  1887  ;  also  Reports  of  1892,  Part  I.,  1893, 
Parts  I.  and  II.,  and  1894,  Part  I. ;  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Sixth 
Annual  Report,  Seventh  Anmial  Report,  Part  III.,  and  Fifteenth  Annual 
Report,  Wages  in  Commercial  Countries ;  Henry  White,  The  Sweating 
System,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletin  No.  4  ;  U.  S.  Senate 
Committee  on  Finance,  Report  on  Wholesale  Prices,  Wages,  and  Transpor- 
tation, in  Senate  Reports  (March,  1893) ;  Wages,  in  U.  S.  Department  of 
Labour,  Bulletins  Nos.  18,  29,  and  39  ;  Whately  Cooke  Taylor,  History 
of  the  Factory  System;  Carl  Biicher,  Industrial  Evolution;  Edward  At- 
kinson, Low  Prices,  High  Wages,  Small  Profits,  in  Century,  New  Series, 
XII.  568  (Aug.,  1887);  Charles  B.  Spahr,  The  Present  Distribution  of 
Wealth  in  the  United  States  and  America's  Working  People  ;  Carroll  D. 
Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,  ch.  xvii. ;  George  Gun- 
ton,  Principles  of  Social  Economics;  E.  R.  A.  Seligman,  The  Living 
Wage,  in  State's  Duty,  IX.  97  (April,  1898);  current  reports  of  State 
bureaus  of  statistics  of  labour  usually  give  facts  relative  to  wages  and 
cost  of  living;  A.  K.  Fiske,  Old  Time  Factory  Life  in  New  England,  in 
New  England  Magazine,  XVIII.  249  (April,  1898);  Harriet  H.  Robin- 
son, Loom  and  Spindle  ;  Wilbur  F.  Crafts,  The  Sabbath  for  Alan  ;  Massa- 
chusetts Board  to  Investigate  the  Subject  of  the  Unemployed,  Davis  R. 
Dewey,  Chairman,  Report,  1895  (especially  bibliography  ;  Part  I.  Relief 

223 


224  Systems  of  Labour.  [§  123 

Measures  ;  and  Part  II.  Wayfarers  and  Tramps)  ;  Francis  A.  Walker, 
The  Eight  Hour  Agitation,  in  Boston  Journal  (March  3,  1890);  Lucy  M. 
Salmon,  Domestic  Service;  W.  A.  Wyckoff,  The  Workers,  and  A  Day 
with  a  Tramp  and  Other  Days  ;  ].  J.  McCook,  Tramps,  in  Charities  Re- 
view, III.  57  (Dec  ,  1893)  '  Census  of  Tramps  and  its  Revelations,  in  Forum, 
XV.  753  (Aug.,  1893) ;  Some  New  Phases  of  the  Tramp  Problem,  in  Char- 
ities Review,  I.  353  (June,  1892) ;  J.  Flynt,  Tramping  with  the  Tramps, 
and  How  Men  become  Tramps,  in  Centtiry,  XXVIII.  941  (Oct.,  1895); 
E.  R.  L.  Gould,  How  Baltimore  banished  Tramps,  in  Forum,  XVII.  497 
(June,  1894);  David  F.  Schloss,  The  Sweating  System  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  in  Journal  of  Social  Science,  XXX.  65  (Oct.,  1892)  ;  Illinois 
Bureau  of  Labour  Statistics,  Seventh  Biennial  Report  (The  Sweating 
System  in  Chicago) ;  Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology,  III.  part 
viii. ;  W.  J.  Shaxby,  An  Eight-Hours  Day ;  George  Gunton,  Are  Wages 
Really  Falling?  in  Gunton's  Magazine,  XV.  81  (Aug.,  1898);  Massachu- 
setts Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour,  Twenty-Eighth  Annual  Report 
(Graded  Weekly  Wages) ;  Duke  of  Argyll,  The  Reign  of  Law,  ch.  vii. ; 
National  Association  of  Charities  and  Corrections,  Reports  of  Annual 
Meetings  ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Are  the  Rich  Growing  Richer  and  the  Poor 
Poorer?  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  LXXX.  300  (Sept.,  1897);  The  Rela- 
tion of  Production  to  Productive  Capacity,  in  Forum,  XXIV.  290,  660 
(Nov.,  1897,  Feb.,  1898) ;  Paul  de  Rousiers,  The  Labour  Question  in 
Britain  ;  Henry  Dyer,  The  Evolution  of  Industry  ;  M.  M.  Mallock,  The 
Economies  of  Modern  Cookery  ;  Ellen  H.  Richards,  The  Cost  of  Living  as 
Modified  by  Sanitary  Science  ;  Lucy  L.  Wilson,  Pland  Book  of  Domestic 
Science  and  Hoiisehold  Arts  ;  Florence  Kelley,  Consumers'  Leagues,  in 
American  Journal  of  Sociology  (Nov.,  1899). 

124.  Employment. 

The  consideration  of  the  employment  of  women  and 
children,  as  an  important  question  relating  to  the  family,  leads 
to  the  discussion  of  the  modern  labour  system  in  general  and 
the  various  conditions  and  questions  arising  under  it.  The 
prevailing  labour  system  is  called  variously  the  wages  system, 
the  factory,  or  aggregated,  or  associated  system  of  labour,  and 
the  competitive  or  capitalistic  system.  From  a  true  sociologi- 
cal point  of  view,  it  is  well  to  consider  it  as  the  wages  system, 
under  which  the  employee  is  related  to  the  employer  through 
contract  and  not  through  status. 

The  earlier  systems  of  labour  did  not  involve  contract; 
under  slavery  labour  was  owned  and  used  as  the  owner 
directed  ;  under  feudalism,  while  the  labourer  was  independent 


§124]  Employment  225 

in  a  certain  sense,  he  was  in  large  degree  subject  to  customs 
which  connected  him  closely  with  the  soil  and  with  the  feudal 
lord.  Notwithstanding  these  conditions,  labour  from  early 
times  has  been  paid  in  wages ;  yet  the  wages  system  as  an 
economic  system  did  not  exist  as  it  is  known  to-day. 

Succeeding  hand-labour  methods  we  have  the  modern  factory 
or  associated  method  of  production.  Many  products  are  still 
brought  out  in  all  countries  through  hand  processes,  as,  for 
example,  boots  and  shoes,  textiles,  clothing,  machinery,  furni- 
ture, and,  in  fact,  very  many  of  the  ordinary  manufactured 
commodities,  and  the  factory  system  has  been  applied  only  in 
a  portion  of  the  world  ;  but  the  great  countries  which  may  be 
denominated  as  the  manufacturing  countries  of  the  world  have 
been  obliged  to  adopt  the  factory  system,  under  which  ma- 
chinery has  been  developed  to  a  marvellous  extent. 

This  modern  system  has  changed  law,  custom,  relationship 
of  employer  and  employed,  —  in  fact,  has  stamped  itself  upon 
civilisation.  The  old  domestic  relation  of  employer  and  em- 
ployed has  passed  away,  and  the  employee  finds  himself 
related  to  his  employer  under  conditions  which  require  a 
remodelling  not  only  of  statute  but  of  common  law  and  trade 
customs.  For  example,  the  old  apprentice  system  has  prac- 
tically died  out  in  the  United  States.  Just  as  in  the  employ- 
ment of  women,  so  in  the  factory  system  there  is  a  mistaken 
popular  impression  that  the  factory  system  is  in  some  way  de- 
moralising ;  that  it  results  in  the  deterioration  of  the  workers 
employed  in  production.  The  reverse  is  the  truth.  The  fac- 
tory system  has  enabled  employers  to  bring  into  active  pro- 
ductive work  people  of  a  low  grade  of  intelligence,  but  in  so 
doing  it  has  raised  the  standard  of  those  employed,  not  only 
in  intelligence,  but  also  in  living.  It  has  never  degraded 
skilled  labour  to  the  ranks  of  unskilled  labour,  but  it  has  con- 
stantly lifted  unskilled  labour  into  the  ranks  of  skilled  labour, 
and  thus  has  enabled  vast  numbers  of  persons  to  earn  a  com- 
fortable, respectable  living  through  the  exercise  of  some  brain 
power,  where  under  the  old  system  they  would  have  been 


226  Systems  of  Labour.  [§124 

compelled  to  labour  at  the  commonest  and  meanest  toil  and 
under  the  lowest  possible  compensation.  Where  the  trolley 
displaces  the  locomotive  the  engineers  are  wanted  as  machin- 
ists, and  dozens  of  other  men  find  well-paid  employment. 
This  has  been  the  effect  of  the  factory  system  or  the  present 
labour  system  wherever  it  has  been  applied,  and  in  those  com- 
munities where  it  has  not  yet  come  in,  the  old  degraded,  igno- 
rant conditions  still  exist,  and  men  capable  of  great  service  to 
their  countries  are  wasting  their  lives  in  coarse  labour.  The 
present  experience  of  Japan,  in  the  transition  from  hand  to 
machine  and  factory  labour,  offers  a  striking  illustration  and  a 
fertile  study  in  this  connection. 

Employment  under  the  present  system  is  by  contract ;  it  is 
usually  said  that  the  working-man  makes  his  contracts  freely. 
It  is  true  that  he  is  free  to  make  or  to  refuse  a  contract,  but 
not  to  specify  the  terms ;  for  neither  he  nor  the  employer 
can  determine  the  rate  of  wages.  So  the  wage-receiver  in 
making  a  contract  must  contract  to  work  for  such  wages  as 
will  be  paid  him  under  influences  beyond  the  control  of  either. 
He  is  not  free  to  make  such  a  contract  as  might  please  him, 
because,  like  every  party  to  a  contract,  he  must  come  to  such 
conditions  as  can  possibly  be  agreed  upon.  He  is  less  free 
than  the  parties  to  most  contracts,  and,  further,  he  cannot 
utilise  his  labour  in  many  directions ;  he  must  contract  for  it 
within  restricted  lines.  He  may  work  by  the  day  or  by  the 
week,  or  by  the  job,  or  by  the  piece,  or  on  any  other  basis, 
but  in  any  event  the  rate  of  his  wages  will  be  regulated  by  the 
prevailing  rate  in  the  industry  in  which  he  is  employed  and  in 
the  locality  where  he  resides. 

By  reference  to  the  tables  of  the  Eleventh  Census  relating  to 
occupations,  the  number  of  persons  in  the  United  States  ten 
years  of  age  and  over  engaged  in  various  occupations  at  differ- 
ent periods  can  be  ascertained  from  1820  to  1900.  The  same 
tables  show  the  number  and  per  cent  of  persons  engaged  in 
agriculture  by  States  and  Territories,  from  1820  to  1900,  in- 
clusive. By  these  tables  one  can  easily  follow  out  the  changes 


§  125]  Money  Wages.  227 

in  the  proportions  of  persons  engaged  either  in  agriculture  or  in 
manufactures.  For  instance,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1820,  there  were  52,384  persons  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture; in  1840  there  were  77,949,  and  after  that  a  constant  de- 
crease, in  187010  46,969,  in  1880,  to  45, 1 2 2,  in  1890  1042,279, 
and  in  1900  to  38,782.  Turning  to  manufacturing  and  mechan- 
ical industries,  we  find  that  New  Hampshire,  for  the  same  years, 
showed  a  gain  in  the  number  employed  from  8,699  in  1820  to 
75,945  in  1900.  Many  like  interesting  comparisons  can  be 
made  by  the  reader  for  himself  by  a  study  of  the  tables. 

The  whole  number  of  persons  in  the  United  States  ten  years 
of  age  and  over  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  1900  was 
29,285,922  ;  but  this  number  includes  employers,  partners, 
officers,  and  clerks  of  all  establishments,  —  everybody,  in  fact, 
who  was  engaged  in  some  remunerative  calling.  A  classifica- 
tion of  employments  into  distinct  subdivisions  has  shown  that 
of  this  number  about  19,000,000  can  be  considered  as  wage- 
earners,  and  a  fairly  conservative  estimate,  based  largely  on  the 
earnings  of  persons  engaged  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical 
industries,  gives  about  $400  per  annum  as  the  average  individ- 
ual earnings.  This  would  mean  that  in  1900  $7,600,000,000,  in 
round  numbers,  were  paid  to  the  wage-earners  of  the  country. 

125.  Are  Money  Wages  Increasing? 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  question  in  connection  with 
employment  is  whether  wages  are  increasing  or  decreasing. 
All  offices  devoted  to  the  investigation  of  social  and  industrial 
questions  very  properly  make  much  of  the  statistics  of  wages, 
and  nearly  all  such  offices  in  this  country  recognise  especially 
the  distinctions  between  the  social  and  the  economic  features 
of  wage  statistics.  The  political  economist  classifies  wages  as 
nominal  wages  and  real  wages,  meaning  by  "  nominal  wages  " 
or  "money  wages"  the  money  actually  received  for  so  much 
labor  performed,  and  by  "  real  wages  "  the  actual  power  which 
the  nominal  wages  have  in  furnishing  the  necessaries  and  com- 
forts of  life  ;  or,  in  other  words,  "  real  wages  "  is  only  another 


228  Systems  of  Labour.  [§i25 

term  for  the  purchasing  power  of  money.  A  man's  nominal 
wages  to-day  may  be  $15  a  week,  with  low  prices;  while  in 
1866,  during  a  period  of  inflation,  he  received  $15  a  week, 
and  prices  were  perhaps  twice  as  high  as  at  present.  This 
complication  and  the  further  division  of  the  social  and  eco- 
nomic aspects  of  the  wage  question  have  led  to  repeated 
attempts  by  statisticians  to  ascertain  the  cost  of  living  as 
shown  by  the  prices  of  leading  articles  of  consumption.  In 
the  Tenth  Census  (1880)  is  a  quantity  of  very  valuable  mate- 
rial showing  the  average  rates  of  wages  paid  in  many  industries, 
based,  however,  principally  on  averages  made  up  in  counting- 
rooms  of  manufacturing  concerns,  without  control  by  the  offi- 
cers in  charge  of  the  work. 

The  great  lack,  as  felt  by  legislators,  economists,  and  work- 
ingmen,  has  been  a  report  which  should  present  in  itself  wages 
and  prices  for  a  long  period,  based  on  authoritative  sources. 
In  1893  Mr.  Aldrich  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  finance  pub- 
lished a  report  on  wholesale  prices  and  wages,  the  material 
for  which  was  collected  largely  by  the  Department  of  Labour, 
from  actual  pay-rolls,  and  in  most  instances  actual  charges  in 
sales-books.  In  this  publication  we  have,  therefore,  trust- 
worthy facts  for  wages  and  prices  in  this  country  for  a  period 
of  fifty-two  years  (from  1840  to  1891,  inclusive)  ;  and  from 
this  report,  notwithstanding  its  faults,  one  can  ascertain,  both 
for  specific  cases  and  in  general,  the  true  course  of  wages  for 
the  whole  period.  The  most  significant  omission  is  the  "  lost 
time  "  of  workmen,  which  could  not  be  discovered. 

In  studying  the  data  referred  to,  we  shall  take  up  (i) 
specific  wages  as  paid  in  some  of  the  leading  occupations ; 

(2)  the  relative  percentage  of  increase  of  wages  in  general; 

(3)  the  prices  of  some  of  the  leading  commodities,  specifically 
considered ;    and  (4)   prices   considered   as   a  whole.     With 
these  four  points  briefly  canvassed,  we  shall  be  in  a  condition 
to  determine  positively  the  relative  value  of  wages  at  distinct 
and  critical  periods  of  our  history  since  and  including  1840, 
and  thus  to  make  possible  answers  to  many  questions  about 
social  conditions. 


§125]  Money  Wages.  229 

Without  attempting  to  give  figures  for  frequent  intervals,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  take  up  the  four  periods  1840,  1860,  1866, 
and  1891,  as  fairly  representative  of  the  different  economic 
conditions  in  this  country  during  the  fifty  years  or  so.  The 
year  1860  represents,  more  nearly  than  any  other  year  during 
this  half-century,  normal  economic  conditions.  The  country 
had  then  recovered  from  the  financial  panic  of  1837  ;  industry 
was  in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  so,  too,  was  commerce, 
while  prices  were  conservative  and  labour  was  fairly  well  em- 
ployed and  fairly  well  paid.  The  influence  of  machinery  was 
not  then  felt  to  so  large  a  degree  as  at  present ;  crops  were 
good,  and  all  the  conditions  essential  for  the  establishment  of 
a  normal  economic  year  seemed  to  exist.  The  next  year,  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  interfered  with  conditions,  upset  prices, 
disturbed  employment,  and  made  the  values  of  crops,  invest- 
ments, and  everything  pertaining  to  industrial  conditions 
speculative  or  problematical ;  and  this  abnormal  state  con- 
tinued until  after  the  resumption  of  specie  payment  in  1878. 
The  year  1866  saw  the  country  still  suffering  from  inflated 
prices ;  but  the  war  was  over,  and  industrial  conditions  were 
beginning  to  settle  into  conservative  ways.  So  1860  and  1866 
represent  normal  and  abnormal  industrial  conditions,  while 
the  years  1840  and  1891  represent  general  conditions.  Prices 
were  low  in  1840;  labour  was  low,  and  immigration  had  not 
set  in  to  any  disturbing  extent.  In  1891  we  have  low  prices 
again,  with  highly  paid  labour,  although  the  country  is  filled  by 
immigration.  The  four  years  selected,  therefore,  are  fair  for 
any  positive  comparison  of  the  course  of  real  and  nominal 
wages  in  the  United  States  since  1840. 

There  would  be  no  necessity  whatever  of  examining  the 
quotations  of  real  wages  in  the  presence  of  authentic  statements 
as  to  the  rates  of  wages  but  for  the  fluctuations  in  prices ;  that 
is  to  say,  should  the  general  trend  of  wages  be  upward,  and 
the  general  trend  of  prices  stationary  or  downward,  the  rates 
of  wages  would  sufficiently  indicate  the  real  wages  of  the  wage- 
receiver  ;  or,  if  wages  increased  and  prices  remained  stationary, 


230  Systems  of  Labour.  [§125 

the  purchasing  power  of  the  wage  received  would  be  enhanced. 
For  instance,  if  a  man  receives  one  dollar  a  day  in  wages,  and 
wheat  is  seventy-five  cents  a  bushel,  and  ten  years  hence  he 
receives  two  dollars  a  day  for  his  labour,  and  wheat  still  remains 
at  seventy-five  cents,  then  his  purchasing  capacity,  as  repre- 
sented by  his  wages,  has  been  doubled.  During  the  period 
under  consideration,  the  fluctuations  of  prices  were  so  great 
and  so  sudden  that  we  are  obliged,  for  the  purpose  of  arriv- 
ing at  any  just  conclusion,  to  consider  the  two  elements,  the 
problem  thus  being  one  of  those  "  functions  of  two  variables  " 
which  are  the  delight  of  the  calculus  in  mathematics. 

The  money  pay  of  labourers  is  quite  indicative  of  general 
conditions.  In  1840  a  labourer  in  a  large  brewery  in  the  city 
of  New  York  received  62.5  cents  a  day;  in  1860,  84  cents  a 
day;  in  1866,  $1.30  a  day;  in  1891,  from  $1.90  to  $2  a  day. 
In  a  well-known  establishment  in  the  State  of  Connecticut 
compositors  who  worked  by  the  day  received,  in  1840,  $1.50; 
in  1860,  $2  ;  in  1866,  from  $2.50  to  $3,  and  the  same  in  1891. 
A  building  firm  in  Connecticut  paid  journeymen  carpenters,  in 
1840,  from  $1.25  to  $1.62  a  day;  in  1860,  from  $1.25  to  $1.75 
a  day;  in  1891,  from  $3  to  $3.25  a  day.  A  firm  of  builders 
in  New  York  paid  carpenters  in  1840,  $1.50  a  day;  in  1860, 
$2  ;  in  1866,  $3.50;  in  1891,  $3.50.  Painters  received  about 
the  same  wages.  Similar  quotations  could  be  made  for  car- 
penters and  painters  in  different  parts  of  the  Eastern  States ; 
thus  the  rates  of  wages  paid  to  wheelwrights  were,  in  1840, 
$1.25  ;  in  1860,  $1.25  ;  in  1866,  $2  ;  in  1891,  $2.50.  Cotton 
weavers  (women)  in  one  Massachusetts  establishment  earned, 
in  1840,  on  the  average,  62  cents  a  day;  in  1860,  54.5  cents; 
in  1866,  from  85  to  90  cents;  in  1891,  $1.05.  Women  frame 
spinners  were  paid  about  the  same,  earning  a  little  more  in  the 
later  years.  Wool  spinners,  both  jack  and  mule,  earned  less 
than  one  dollar  a  day  in  1840,  while  in  1860  they  earned  $1.05 
a  day;  in  1866,  from  $1.80  to  $1.90  a  day;  in  1891,  from 
£1.38  to  $1.75  a  day. 

The  average  money  earnings  of  puddlers  have  been  subject 


§i25]  Money  Wages.  231 

to  great  variations,  purely  because  the  usual  scale  is  so  much 
per  ton  of  iron  puddled.  In  1840,  at  y£tna,  Pa.,  puddlers 
earned  $3.69  a  day  ;  in  1860,  $2.67  a  day  ;  in  1866,  from  $5.37 
to  $6.04  a  day;  in  1891,  $3.67.  In  another  iron-works,  at 
Duncannon,  Pa.,  the  rates  were  $2.30,  $2.01,  $4.83,  and  $2.91 
for  the  years  named.  The  rates  of  wages  a  day,  successively, 
for  the  years  named,  for  blasters  and  drillers  in  the  New  Jersey 
ore  district,  were  75  cents,  $i,  $1.65,  and  $1.50;  and  for  un- 
skilled labourers  in  mining  ore  at  Cornwall,  Pa.,  50  cents,  75 
cents,  $1.45,  and  $1.55. 

The  salaries  paid  to  teachers  indicate  the  earnings  of  a  well- 
equipped  body  of  public  servants.  From  facts  furnished  by 
Hon.  William  T.  Harris,  Commissioner  of  Education,  it  is 
learned  that  principals  of  boys'  high  schools  in  Baltimore  re- 
ceived, per  annum,  in  1840,  $1,500  ;  in  1860,  $1,500 ;  in  1866, 
$2,200;  in  1891,  $2,400.  Principals  of  primary  schools  for 
both  boys  and  girls  in  the  same  city  received  $250,  $300,  $700, 
and  $696  per  annum.  Assistants  (women)  in  the  lowest  pri- 
mary schools  in  the  city  of  Boston  received,  for  the  first  year 
of  service,  $300  in  1860,  $450  in  1866,  and  $456  in  1891. 
The  range  for  masters  in  grammar  schools  in  the  same  city  was 
from  $1,500  in  the  earlier  period  to  $2,880  in  the  last  year 
that  we  are  considering.  Stepping  outside  of  cities,  the  facts 
are  found  very  complete  for  the  remote  districts  of  Barnstable 
County,  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  where  men  received,  in 
1840,  $20.28  a  month;  in  1860,  $40.73  a  month;  in  1866, 
$53.60  a  month;  in  1890,  $68.18  a  month.  Women  in  the 
same  counties  received  $6.14,  $19.12,  $22.53,  and  $34-88  a 
month.  Principals  (men)  of  district  schools  in  Cincinnati 
received,  for  our  four  periods,  $540,  $1,200,  $1,900,  and  $1,900 
a  year,  the  last  two  quotations  being  for  salaries  after  three 
years'  service.  The  average  annual  salary  of  teachers  and 
supervising  officers  in  cities  of  over  8,000  inhabitants  in  1900 
was  $670.81.  The  highest  average  was  found  in  California,  it 
being  $943  ;  the  lowest  in  Oklahoma,  where  it  was  $351.89. 
Among  the  highest  averages  are  Massachusetts,  $728.69; 


232  Systems  of  Labour.  [§  125 

New  York,  $851.41;  Illinois,  $745.13;  Montana,  $844.10, 
and  Colorado,  $776.65.  In  all  other  States  the  average  is 
less  than  $700. 

These  various  individual  quotations  are,  perhaps,  sufficient 
to  indicate  the  course  of  wages  in  some  of  the  leading  occupa- 
tions of  the  country  where  such  quotations  can  be  secured  for 
the  whole  period.  In  individual  cases  chance,  personal  merit, 
and  consideration  of  employers  make  great  variations,  especially 
where  there  is  a  confidential  relation.  For  instance,  in  1850  a 
book-keeper  in  Manchester,  N.  H.,  received  sixty-three  cents 
a  day.  With  varying  compensation  he  secured  a  salary  of  $2 
a  day  in  1865,  and  he  continued  to  work  for  this  until  January, 
1877,  when  a  young  woman  was  appointed  to  his  place,  at  $i 
a  day.  After  working  four  years,  she  received  precisely  the 
same  salary  the  man  was  receiving  when  he  was  discharged,  — 
that  is,  $2  a  day,  —  while  in  1889,  in  January,  her  salary  was 
raised  to  $3.33  a  day. 

126.    The  General  Increase  in  Wages. 

The  percentage  of  increase  of  wages  in  general  from  1860 
to  1891  is  shown  by  the  report  of  the  Senate  Committee  on 
Finance,  the  wages  for  1860  being  considered  as  normal,  or 
100.  On  this  basis  wages  in  1840  stood  at  87.7,  100  in  1860, 
152.4  in  1866,  and  160.7  U1  1891.  Wages  in  the  United 
States  were  higher  in  1891  and  1892  than  at  any  prior  period 
in  the  history  of  the  country.  The  financial  crisis  and  indus- 
trial depression  beginning  in  the  spring  of  1893  resulted  in  a 
decrease  in  wage  rates  until  1896.  From  that  year  on  there 
has  been  a  steady  increase,  so  that  at  the  present  time  (1902), 
taking  wages  on  the  average  for  all  occupations,  they  are  higher 
than  they  were  in  1891  and  1892,  thus  higher  than  at  any 
period  in  the  history  of  the  country.  Wages  statistics  for 
various  skilled  trades  in  some  of  the  leading  cities  of  the 
Union  have  been  collected  by  the  Department  of  Labour  for 
the  years  since  1896.  The  results  show  that  for  the  indus- 
tries involved,  the  wages  of  blacksmiths  are  over  5  per  cent 


§126]  Increase  of  Wages.  233 

higher  ncnv  than  in  1896  ;  boiler-makers,  4  ;  bricklayers,  13 .£  ; 
carpenters,  14.6  ;  iron  molders,  10.5  ;  machinists,  nearly  3  ; 
painters,  nearly  18;  plumbers,  8.5;  stone-cutters,  about  4. 
These  statements  show  that  wages  are  9  per  cent  higher  now 
than  they  were  in  1896.  Real  wages,  in  the  language  of 
political  economy,  are  to  be  determined  by  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  money  paid  for  services.  Taking  the  average 
wholesale  price  of  leading  commodities  as  a  guide,  it  is  found 
that  they  were  8.5  per  cent  higher  during  the  year  1901  than 
for  the  previous  ten  years. 

Looking  over  a  broader  field  and  taking  1860  as  the  starting 
point,  it  is  found  that  the  hours  of  labour  have  been  reduced 
10  per  cent,  and  that  money  wages  represented  by  rates  on  a 
gold  basis  have  increased  nearly  70  per  cent.  The  cost  of 
living  as  gauged  by  wholesale  prices  has  been  reduced  about 
6  per  cent  since  1860.  Thus  the  purchasing  power  of  wages 
in  1902,  measured  by  wholesale  prices,  is  about  80  per  cent 
higher  than  in  1860. 

There  has  been  a  constant  increase  of  wages  since  the  cen- 
tury opened,  being  higher,  however,  in  the  United  States  than 
in  any  other  country,  the  chief  countries  ranking  as  follows  : 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  France,  Belgium,  Germany. 

The  increase  in  money  wages  corresponds  to  the  develop- 
ment of  a  new  conception  of  the  wage-earners'  function  in 
society.  Formerly  subsistence  was  allowed  the  slaves,  and 
wages  were  paid  to  the  freeman  on  the  basis  of  preserving  the 
efficiency  of  the  working  human  machine,  and  they  did  not 
exceed  the  needs  for  the  preservation  of  efficiency.  This  has 
been  called  the  iron  law  of  wages,  under  which  food,  shelter, 
and  clothing  in  sufficient  quantities  to  keep  the  man  in  good 
working  order  were  considered  a  fair  gauge  of  the  rate  of  wage 
which  should  be  paid  to  him.  To-day  the  workingman  de- 
mands not  only  these  necessitie?,  but  something  beyond,- — a 
surplus,  which  shall  go  to  the  support  of  what  may  be  called 
his  spiritual  nature  ;  that  is,  not  merely  abundant  food,  a  com- 
fortable dwelling,  a  variety  of  clothing,  but  opportunities  for 


234  Systems  of  Labour.  [§126 

reading,  amusement,  recreation,  music,  something  of  art,  and, 
above  all,  a  better  opportunity  for  his  children.  He  desires  to 
surround  himself  with  the  comforts  and  conveniences  and  a 
fair  proportion  of  even  the  luxuries  of  life  ;  and  every  right- 
minded  person  must  admit  that  it  is  a  proper  contention. 
He  is  educated  in  the  schools,  seeks  legislative  experience, 
takes  part  in  the  politics  of  the  country,  and  the  whole  basis 
of  a  democratic  government  assumes  that  he  is  more  than  a 
human  machine;  that  he  shall  have  time  and  means  for  an 
existence  suitable  for  an  intelligent  citizen  of  the  republic. 

127.    Cost  of  Living. 

That  money  wages  have  increased  has  now  been  proved 
beyond  cavil ;  the  next  step  is  to  consider  whether  that  in- 
crease has  been  counterbalanced  or  augmented  by  changes 
in  money  prices  of  the  things  that  the  consumer  uses.  To 
learn  the  "  real  wages  "  we  must  consider  the  prices  of  some 
of  the  leading  commodities  specifically  considered,  and  then 
the  course  of  prices  of  all  articles  considered  as  a  whole ;  and 
for  this  purpose  wholesale  prices,  as  coming  nearest  to  the 
producers'  receipts,  more  fully  indicate  the  real  fluctuations  in 
values.  So  many  elements  conspire  to  raise  or  lower  retail 
prices,  that  the  difficulty  of  securing  them  on  any  uniform 
basis  of  report  warrants  the  use  of  wholesale  prices  to  show 
the  relation  of  price  to  cost  of  living.  Could  retail  prices  be 
systematically  obtained,  with  a  uniform  addition  of  profit  to 
the  wholesale  cost,  they  would  be  much  more  satisfactory ;  but 
as  indicative  of  the  variations  in  cost  of  living  from  period  to 
period,  probably  wholesale  prices  offer  the  steadiest  if  not  the 
best  basis  for  comparison. 

The  prices  quoted  are  for  the  same  month  and  day  in  each 
year  and  for  actual  sales  in  New  York  and  from  the  files  of 
trade  journals,  and  the  same  typical  dates  will  be  used  as  in  the 
discussion  of  money  wages,  viz.,  1840,  1860,  1866,  1891,  1896, 
and  1901.  A  few  of  those  articles  which  enter  largely  into  the 
consumption  of  working  people  run  as  follows  :  Soda  crackers, 


§  i27]  Cost  of  Living.  235 

medium  grade,  per  pound,  in  1840,  6  cents;  in  1860,  7^ 
cents;  in  1866,  8£  cents;  in  1891,  8  cents;  in  1896,  6J 
cents;  in  1901,  7  cents;  dairy  butter,  per  pound,  16,  17,  41, 
18,  14^,  and  18^  cents;  cheese,  per  pound,  9,  7^,  19,  8|,  6|, 
and  9  cents;  coffee,  fair  Rio,  per  pound,  9^,  13^,  ai,i8|,  13^ 
and  7  cents;  eggs,  per  dozen,  12,  13!,  23^,  i8£,  14^,  and  15^ 
cents;  flour,  medium  quality,  a  quarter  barrel,  $1.75,  $1.36, 
$2.13,  $1.22^,  $0.82,  and  $o.8i£;  mess  beef,  per  pound,  6£, 
5>  I2i>  5»  3i  and  4|  cents;  mess  pork,  per  pound,  7$,  9^, 
i6|,  5f,  4^,  and  8^  cents;  clear  bacon,  per  pound,  8,  8^, 
J5i»  7i>  4-¥»  and  9  cer>ts ;  prime  New  Orleans  molasses,  per 
gallon,  26,  48,  $1.10,  32,  33,  and  38^  cents;  refined  sugar, 
crushed  or  granulated,  per  pound,  n£,  10,  i6|,  4^,  4f,  and 
5^  cents;  Cocheco  calico,  per  yard,  12,  9^,  21,  6,  5,  and  5 
cents;  anthracite  stove  coal,  per  ton,  $4.50,  $3.85,  $7.50, 
$3.71,  $3.88,  and  $4.24;  rent,  for  tenement  of  five  rooms, 

per  week,  $i-75»  #i-75>  $4-5°>  $4-5°>  $3-75>  and  ^3-o°-  In~ 
numerable  other  quotations  might  be  made,  but  the  foregoing 
are  fairly  representative. 

Taking  the  leading  articles  of  consumption  in  accordance 
with  their  importance  relative  to  total  consumption  (rents  not 
being  included)  and  assuming  the  quotations  for  1860  to  be  100 
or  normal,  it  is  found  that  the  proportionate  general  prices  are 
for  1840,  97.7;  for  1860,  100  ;  for  1866,  187.7;  for  1891, 
94.4;  for  1896,  74.7;  and  for  1901,  89.8;  that  is  to  say, 
prices  generally  fell  in  forty-one  years  from  100  (1860)  to 
89.8  (1901).  (See  section  126.) 

Since  in  the  previous  comparison  it  was  shown  that  the 
simple  average  of  wages  stood  at  166.2  in  1901  relatively  to 
100  in  1860,  and  since  the  prices  of  commodities,  averaged  on 
the  basis  stated  above,  fell  from  100  in  1860  to  89.8  in  1901,  the 
following  conclusions  seem  positive  and  absolute  :  the  percent- 
age of  increase  in  prices  rose  in  1866  to  a  point  far  beyond  the 
increase  in  wages,  but  prices  fell  by  1901  to  a  point  lower,  on 
the  whole,  than  they  were  in  1840,  and  wages  rose  even  above 
the  high  point  they  reached  in  1866  ;  so  that  in  1901  the  pur- 


236  Systems  of  Labour.  [§127 

chasing  power  of  a  day's  labour  was  in  the  proportion  of  185 
to  too,  the  purchasing  power  in  1860. 

To  make  a  specific  illustration  from  common  affairs,  let  us 
take  the  case  of  a  journeyman  carpenter  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  see  what  his  wages  were  in  a  week  of  July  of  the  six 
years  named,  and  what  he  would  have  had  to  pay  for  a  week's 
supply  of  the  articles  which  have  been  enumerated  above,  at 
the  price  quoted  for  each  for  July  of  that  year,  assuming,  for 
reasons  already  given,  that  he  could  purchase  these  things  at 
wholesale  rates.  For  the  purpose  of  simplifying  the  problem, 
we  will  assume  that  the  carpenter  bought,  in  each  of  the  weeks 
named,  five  pounds  of  soda  crackers,  of  fair  grade  ;  five  pounds 
of  dairy  butter  ;  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  cheese  ;  two  pounds 
of  fair  Rio  coffee  ;  one  dozen  eggs  ;  one  quarter  of  a  barrel  of 
flour,  of  medium  grade ;  four  pounds  of  mess  beef ;  two  pounds 
of  mess  pork ;  four  pounds  of  bacon,  clear ;  one  gallon  of 
prime  New  Orleans  molasses;  five  pounds  of  refined  sugar; 
ten  yards  of  Cocheco  calico,  and  half  a  ton  of  anthracite  stove 
coal ;  and  that  he  paid  one  week's  rental.  All  these  articles 
would  have  cost,  for  the  years  named,  respectively,  $10.15, 
$9.51,  $19.46,  $11.39,  $9.60,  and  $9.60.  The  journeyman 
carpenter  received,  in  1840,  $1.50  a  day;  in  1860,  $2  a  day; 
in  1866,  $3.50  a  day:  in  1891,  $3.10  a  day;  in  1896,  $3.00 
a  day;  and  in  1901,  $3.45  a  day.  His  hours  per  week  for 
the  six  years  were,  respectively,  60,  60,  60,  50.4,  48,  and 
44.6.  His  earnings  in  July  of  the  years  named  were,  respec- 
tively, $9,  $12,  $21,  $18.60,  $18,  and  $20.70  a  week.  In  1840, 
after  paying  the  bill  which  has  been  described  at  the  close  of 
the  week  in  July,  he  would  have  been  in  debt  $1.15  ;  in  1860 
he  would  have  had  left  from  his  week's  wages  $2.49  ;  in  1866  he 
would  have  had  $1.54  ;  in  1891  he  would  have  had  $7.21  ;  in 
1896  he  would  have  had  $8.40  ;  while  in  1901  he  would  have  had 
$n.io  to  spare,  and,  compared  with  the  earlier  years,  would 
have  had  two  and  one-half  hours  extra  per  day  for  his  own  use. 

These  simple  references  and  combinations  show  quite 
clearly  the  real  wages  as  against  the  nominal  wages  of  the 


§127]  Cost  of  Living.  237 

wage-receiver,  and  the  inevitable  conclusion  to  which  they 
lead  is  that  whenever  prices  of  commodities  rise,  they  rise 
higher,  relatively,  than  does  the  price  of  labour,  and  that  when 
prices  go  down  they  go  down  much  lower,  relatively,  than  does 
the  price  of  labour,  which  shows  a  tenacity  in  holding  to  the 
money  wage  which  has  beeri  gained,  notwithstanding  its  greater 
purchasing  power. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  in  the  foregoing  calculations  to 
reduce  values  to  a  gold  basis,  because  in  all  the  periods  con- 
sidered labour  was  paid  in  currency,  whether  at  par  in  gold  or 
on  an  inflated  basis,  and  the  man  who  received  wages  paid  for 
his  articles  on  the  same  basis.  For  instance,  our  carpenter 
received  $3.50  in  1866  in  greenbacks,  while  in  1901  he  re- 
ceived 3.45  on  a  gold  basis  ;  but  in  1840  he  bought  calico  at 
12  cents  a  yard  (gold  basis)  ;  and  in  1866  at  21  cents  (inflated 
currency)  ;  but  in  1901  he  was  able  to  buy  it  at  5  cents  a 
yard  on  a  gold  basis. 

Taking  wages  and  prices  together,  —  and  they  must  be  so 
considered  to  reach  just  conclusions,  —  it  seems  fair  to  con- 
clude that  rates  of  wages  have  increased  constantly,  with  some 
deviation  in  commercial  depressions ;  that  average  earnings 
have  also  increased,  and  that  average  prices  on  the  whole  have 
declined ;  hence  the  economic  condition  of  the  wage-earner 
has  improved  vastly  during  the  last  fifty  or  sixty  y<ears,  and  any 
falling  off  due  to  temporary  causes  has  been  speedily  overcome 
in  large  degree,  if  not  entirely. 

Another  method  of  dealing  with  the  complicated  question 
of  the  cost  of  living  is  to  secure  an  exact  statement  of  the  ex- 
penditures of  families  by  items,  and  then  to  compare  the  cost 
for  families  in  like  or  different  conditions ;  but  this  budget 
method  requires  too  much  space  to  be  introduced  into  a  work 
of  this  kind. 


238  Systems  of  Labour.  [§128 

128.  Hours  of  Labour. 

One  method  of  securing  the  additional  comfort  which  the 
workingman  desires  is  by  a  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labour, 
and  it  has  been  brought  about  in  the  United  States,  notwith- 
standing the  increase  of  wages  and  the  decline  of  prices. 
Since  1860,  even,  the  ordinary  work-day  in  mills  and  the  like 
has  been  made  shorter  by  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half.  When 
the  factory  was  first  established,  operatives  worked,  on  the  aver- 
age, about  13  hours  a  day.  They  now  work  from  56  to  60 
hours  per  week,  and  in  all  industries  there  has  been  a  general 
shortening  of  the  work-day.  It  is  not  equal  everywhere,  but 
the  tendency  is  to  require  less  and  less  time  of  the  worker  who 
is  employed  in  running  machinery. 

The  movement  for  the  lessening  of  hours  began  in  England 
in  1802-03,  and  it  has  been  persistent  to  this  day,  till  56 
hours  is  the  rule  in  many  industries  ;  but  this  applies  to  women. 
No  State  has  felt  at  liberty  to  interfere  with  the  right  of  the 
adult  man  to  regulate  his  own  hours  of  labour,  but  wherever 
many  women  and  children  are  employed  in  industries  the  fac- 
tory stops  when  their  day  ends ;  thus  the  law  practically  es- 
tablishes the  work-day  of  the  men.  An  exception  to  this 
statement  is  found  in  the  experience  of  Utah  under  its  new 
constitution,  in  accordance  with  which  law  has  fixed  the 
hours  of  labour  for  miners. 

The  agitation  for  less  hours  was  begun  in  this  country  about 
1845,  by  the  operatives  in  the  factories  at  Lowell,  Mass.  At 
present  nearly  all  of  the  States  having  textile  industries  have 
regulated  the  hours  for  women,  and  thus  established  the  work- 
day for  men.  In  New  England  the  first  lo-hour  law  was 
passed  in  1874  by  Massachusetts.  Other  Northern  States  fol- 
lowed, and  this  class  of  legislation  has  spread  over  the  country. 
In  the  Southern  textile  mills  66  hours  per  week  is  more  gen- 
erally the  rule  ;  in  Massachusetts  it  is  58,  while  by  the  law  in 
New  Jersey  it  is  55  hours,  although  the  law  is  but  little  ob- 
served outside  the  silk  industry  in  that  State.  In  nearly  all 


§128]  Hours  of  Labour.  239 

mechanical  industries  other  than  textiles  the  lo-hour  day 
became  a  custom  long  before  law  exerted  its  influence,  but 
where  women  were  concerned  the  hours  were  more  than  10 
until  law  intervened. 

Many  of  the  States  have  laws  defining  what  a  day's  labour 
shall  consist  of  in  the  absence  of  any  specific  contract,  and  in 
some  it  is  defined  as  8  hours  and  hi  others  as  10.  As  long 
ago  as  1840  President  Van  Buren  issued  an  order  that  jo 
hours  should  constitute  a  day's  work  in  Federal  employment, 
and  in  1868  Congress  passed  a  law  making  8  hours  a  day's 
labour  on  public  works.  In  many  industries  it  is  quite  impos- 
sible to  establish,  either  by  custom  or  law,  a  specific  work-day, 
as  in  iron-works,  which  must  be  kept  running  day  and  night  in 
order  to  prevent  waste,  and  on  railroads,  where  to  limit  or  de- 
fine the  hours  which  railroad  employees  should  work  might  be 
disastrous  to  transportation.  Nevertheless,  in  all  branches  the 
tendency  is  towards  a  decrease  in  the  length  of  the  day  of 
employment.  On  railroads  a  stipulated  run  is  defined  as  con- 
stituting a  day's  labour,  although  on  some  roads  the  pay  is  by 
the  hour,  and  where  works  run  day  and  night  the  time  of  em- 
ployment is  regulated  by  shifts  or  sections.  Sometimes  there 
are  three  shifts  of  employees.  In  many  industries,  in  factories 
and  elsewhere,  the  hours  of  labour  are  fixed  by  the  trades 
unions  at  ten,  often  nine,  and  sometimes  eight,  and  employers 
have  been  compelled  to  accede  by  strikes.  Many  import- 
ant work-people  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things,  have  ihe 
advantage  of  such  a  system.  Such  are  sailors,  watchmen, 
farm-hands,  domestic  servants,  and  soldiers. 

The  general  sentiment  of  all  countries  where  machinery  has 
been  employed  to  any  extent  is  that  with  speeded  machinery 
the  work-day  should  be  shortened  so  that  the  wage-earner 
may  receive  some  of  the  benefits  of  invention.  It  is  certainly 
reasonable  that  in  our  modern  civilisation  a  man  should  not  be 
compelled  to  work  as  many  hours  as  formerly  in  order  to  earn 
a  living ;  with  the  spread  of  education  and  the  development 
of  intelligence  the  wage-receiver  should  have  more  time  for  his 


240  Systems  of  Labour.  [§128 

own  leisure,  recreation,  and  recuperation.  It  is  on  the  general 
principle  that  improvements  should  not  be  monopolised  that 
these  customs  come  into  force  and,  to  a  large  extent,  have  all 
the  influence  of  law.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  wages  increase, 
prices  of  most  products  decrease,  and  the  hours  of  labour  are 
lessened,  all  of  which  benefits  have  arisen  under  the  modern 
system  of  labour. 

129.   Sunday  Labour. 

The  Sunday  labour  question  is  another  matter  which  from 
time  to  time  agitates  the  public  mind ;  for  there  is  a  great  and 
constant  increase  in  this  class  of  labour,  and  the  interest  felt 
in  its  effect  upon  the  men  engaged  in  it,  as  well  as  the  moral 
effect  upon  the  community,  has  given  the  subject  an  economic 
and  ethical  importance  which  places  it  among  the  leading 
phases  of  modern  industrial  life.  Apart  from  the  religious 
aspect  of  the  case,  physical,  social,  and  ethical  considerations 
demand  one  day  of  rest  in  the  week. 

The  Federal  Government  recognises  Sunday  as  a  day  of 
rest,  as  illustrated  by  the  various  provisions  of  law  concerning 
the  dealings  of  the  Government  with  officers  and  employees 
in  all  branches  of  governmental  work,  —  in  suspending  labour 
wherever  it  is  possible,  in  providing  that  courts  shall  not  sit, 
that  post-offices  shall  not  be  open  except  under  certain  condi- 
tions, and  that  all  official  business  shall  practically  be  sus- 
pended. All  the  States  of  the  American  Union,  with  the 
exception,  perhaps,  of  one,  recognise  the  day,  and  most  of 
them  protect  it.  Sunday  laws  differ  in  their  provisions,  but  it 
is  a  part  of  the  movement  of  organised  labour  to  secure  free- 
dom from  employment  on  Sunday. 

A  study  of  the  matter  shows  that  there  is  little  productive 
work  done  on  Sunday  ;  that  is,  the  production  of  goods  for 
profit.  In  some  branches,  like  the  iron  business,  brewing,  and 
a  few  others,  where  there  would  be  great  loss  without  con- 
tinuous processes,  Sunday  labour  prevails ;  but  even  in  such 
cases  it  is  restricted  to  the  absolutely  economic  conditions  re- 


§129]  Sunday  Labour.  241 

suiting  from  the  nature  of  the  business.  The  great  volume  of 
Sunday  labour  grows  out  of  personal  service,  —  the  demand 
which  individuals  make  of  other  individuals,  either  from  neces- 
sity, from  custom,  or  from  desire.  Railroads  run  on  Sunday 
because  individual  members  of  the  community  demand  the 
convenience.  Newspapers  are  published  Sunday  because 
readers  want  the  news.  Work  in  connection  with  hotels,  res- 
taurants, and  the  supplying  of  food  generally  is  the  result  of 
the  personal  necessities  of  man.  So,  looking  the  field  over 
broadly,  there  are  seen  to  be  two  classes  of  labour  performed, — 
that  for  the  production  of  wealth,  and  that  for  personal  ser- 
vice. The  reduction  of  Sunday  labour,  then,  is  a  matter  which 
rests  with  the  consciences  and  the  necessities  of  people,  not 
with  the  great  producers  of  commodities. 

The  laws  relating  to  Sunday  labour  almost  invariably  exempt 
from  their  provisions  personal  service,  and  apply  to  markets, 
shops,  commerce,  work  of  a  purely  business  nature,  where  pro- 
vision can  be  made  beforehand.  The  facts  show  that  it  is  the 
sheer  will  of  man,  actuated  by  no  constraint  of  nature  nor  any 
selfish  motive  of  profit,  but  only  by  what  is  considered  as 
some  human  convenience,  that  causes  all  or  nearly  all  the 
Sunday  labour. 

The  great  sociological  question  underlying  the  matter  is, 
Shall  the  wage-worker  be  given  sufficient  opportunity  for  rest 
and  recreation  during  the  week?  or,  Shall  he  be  obliged  to 
take  such  rest  and  recreation  on  Sunday?  And  then  arises  the 
ethical  question  as  to  what  is  rest.  To  one  man  the  attend- 
ance upon  church  brings  restfulness,  while  to  another  some 
other  form  of  occupation  would  determine  the  character  of  the 
rest;  but  to  the  man  whose  muscles  have  been  strained  to 
their  utmost  tension  for  six  days  and  for  ten  hours  each  day, 
whose  nervous  force  has  been  largely  drawn  upon  through  the 
action  of  speeded  machinery,  and  who  has  had  no  time  during 
the  week  for  reading,  or  for  recreation,  or  for  many  of  the 
amenities  which  come  to  people  of  different  callings,  a  day  of 
rest  may  be  entirely  another  affair.  In  order  to  secure  to  such 

16 


242  Systems  of  Labour.  [§129 

a  man  the  opportunity  to  keep  Sunday  in  ways  which  seem  to 
be  associated  with  the  Sabbath,  the  conditions  of  his  employ- 
ment as  to  hours  and  wages  must  be  such  that  his  mental  at- 
titude will  enable  him  to  enjoy  Sunday  according  to  ethical  or 
religious  standards  ;  it  should  not  be  the  only  day  on  which  he 
can  indulge  in  amusements. 

130.  The  Unemployed. 

In  striving  to  establish  a  basis  for  a  sure  judgment  in  socio- 
logical questions,  it  has  been  necessary  to  disprove  several 
obstinate  preconceptions,  as,  for  instance,  with  regard  to  the 
effect  of  the  factory  on  women's  character.  Another  fixed 
idea  not  sustained  by  the  facts  is  that  under  the  prevailing 
system  of  labour  there  is  an  increasing  class  of  persons  who 
cannot  find  employment.  Some  of  the  evils  that  cluster  about 
the  present  labour  system  are  not  products  of  it,  but  simply 
are  co-existent ;  some  of  them  seem  inseparable  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  aggregated  system  of  production.  Whatever  the 
reason  for  the  existence  of  the  unemployed,  it  is  probable  that 
the  proportion  of  the  unemployed  to  the  whole  number  of 
persons  in  the  country  does  not  increase.  The  numbers  vary 
from  time  to  time,  owing  to  disturbed  conditions  of  trade  and 
industry ;  but  taking  decades  of  years  together,  the  idle  are  un- 
doubtedly fewer  than  they  were  in  earlier  centuries.  England 
in  1600  was  plagued  by  "sturdy  vagabonds,"  and  one  of  the 
chief  causes  of  the  settlement  of  the  American  colonies  was  to  rid 
England  of  what  we  now  call  "  tramps."  Nevertheless,  the  pres- 
ence of  a  large  number  of  unemployed  persons  is  always  a  men- 
ace to  society,  whatever  the  cause,  and  every  effort  which  can  be 
made,  either  by  law  or  by  philanthropic  and  benevolent  move- 
ment, to  reduce  the  number  is  in  the  interest  of  society  at  large. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  credit  the  wild  statements  made  on 
this  subject ;  they  are  sufficiently  disproved  by  their  own  uni- 
formity. In  1878  it  was  always  "  three  millions  out  of  work." 
During  the  recent  depression  of  1893-96  the  same  number 
lodged  in  the  public  mind.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  difficult 


§130]  The  Unemployed.  243 

to  determine  by  the  statistical  method  the  number  of  unem- 
ployed at  any  one  time ;  yet  some  investigations  have  pro- 
duced results  fairly  significant  of  real  conditions. 

The  first  important  attempt  was  at  the  Tenth  Census 
(1880),  but  the  results  were  considered  so  faulty  as  not  to 
warrant  their  tabulation.  More  satisfactory  were  the  returns 
of  the  Massachusetts  Census  of  1885,  the  Eleventh  Census  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  special  report  of  Professor  Dewey, 
from  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  the  Unemployed.  The 
results  of  the  Massachusetts  Census  showed  that  out  of  a  total 
of  816,470  persons  employed  in  all  gainful  occupations  in  that 
State,  241,589,  or  29.59  Per  cent?  were  unemployed  at  their 
principal  occupation,  on  an  average,  4.11  months  during  the 
census  year,  the  average  "unemployment"  for  persons  en- 
gaged in  manufactures  pure  and  simple  being  3.9  months.  In 
other  words,  about  one-third  of  the  total  number  of  persons 
engaged  in  remunerative  labour  were  unemployed  at  their 
principal  occupation  for  about  one-third  of  the  working  time. 
Notwithstanding  these  figures,  822  persons  only  were  returned 
as  having  been  unemployed  during  the  entire  twelve  months 
of  the  year.  The  total  loss  of  available  labour  would  therefore 
appear  to  be  about  one-ninth. 

In  1890,  at  the  Federal  census,  it  was  shown  that  out  of  the 
total  number  of  persons  ten  years  of  age  and  over  engaged  in 
gainful  occupations  (22,735,661)  those  who  were  unemployed 
at  their  principal  occupation  during  any  portion  of  the  census 
year  amounted  to  3,523,730,  being  15.50  per  cent  of  the  total 
number.  Unfortunately,  the  data  relative  to  the  length  of  time 
unemployed  were  not  very  exact,  but  the  approximate  average 
number  of  persons  unemployed  during  the  entire  census  year 
was  1,139,672,  or  5.01  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  persons 
engaged  in  gainful  occupations,  a  loss  of  about  one-twentieth 
of  the  nation's  productive  force.  This  proportion  is  substan- 
tially confirmed  by  a  calculation,  based  on  somewhat  exten- 
sive inquiry  and  observation  and  by  different  individuals,  for 
the  year  ending  July  i,  1885. 


244  Systems  of  Labour.  [§  130 

Of  course,  there  is  a  large  number  of  unemployed  at  all 
times,  whether  there  is  an  industrial  depression  prevailing  or 
not.  The  point  is,  What  is  the  number  that  society  must  care 
for,  or  that  cannot  by  any  organisation  be  absorbed  in  the 
industries  of  the  country?  One  million  people  out  of  em- 
ployment means  a  very  great  loss  in  every  direction  and  a 
crippling  of  the  consuming  power  of  the  country ;  the  loss  of 
their  purchases  may  be  represented  by  at  least  $500,000  per  day, 
or  over  $150,000,000  in  one  year,  a  sum  which,  if  withdrawn 
from  trade,  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  cause  a  reaction  in  business 
and  a  general  curtailment  of  expenses,  from  which  there  results 
apprehension  and  timidity  among  all  classes.  It  is  curious, 
however,  to  observe  that  while  the  severity  of  any  depression 
is  supposed  to  cause  a  crippling  of  the  consuming  power  of  the 
people,  the  volume  of  business  transacted  is  not  much  reduced. 
During  the  severest  periods  of  the  recent  depression  the  vol- 
ume of  business  declined  only  from  6  to  10  per  cent. 

In  1878  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour 
undertook  to  ascertain  the  number  of  persons  out  of  employ- 
ment. The  popular  statement  was  that  there  were  300,000  in 
the  Commonwealth  seeking  employment.  The  fallacy  of  this 
statement  did  not  appear  until  it  was  ascertained  that  there 
were  only  a  little  over  300,000  persons  engaged  at  that  time 
in  the  mechanical  industries  alone  of  the  State.  A  canvass  at 
two  periods  of  the  year,  June  and  November,  made  through 
town  and  city  officials,  showed  that  in  June  there  were  about 
23,000  persons  seeking  employment,  and  in  November  about 
28,000. 

No  satisfactory  general  method  of  providing  employment 
for  the  unemployed  has  yet  been  suggested.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  century  English  economists  had  to  meet  this  question, 
and  almost  universally  they  recommended  the  mobilising  of 
labour ;  that  is,  the  transferring  of  bodies  of  labourers  from  one 
industry  to  another,  but  nothing  came  or  could  come  of  a 
recommendation  requiring  such  superhuman  skill  in  foreseeing 
the  future  development  of  industry.  In  recent  years  cities  and 


§131]  The  Tramp.  245 

states,  through  commissions  and  otherwise,  have  studied  the 
problem,  but  so  far  without  any  very  satisfactory  results.  The 
utilisation  of  waste  lands  for  the  employment  of  persons  out  of 
work  in  raising  vegetables  for  their  own  families  or  for  sale  has 
here  and  there  mitigated  the  severity  of  prevailing  conditions, 
but  that  method  has  not  solved  the  question  of  the  unem- 
ployed. Many  recommend  the  establishment  of  public  work- 
shops, such  as  were  tried  and  failed  in  France  in  1 848 ;  but 
this  would  only  increase  the  sharpness  of  competition,  because 
public  shops  could  sell'  their  products  without  any  particular 
regard  to  cost,  while  private  producers  must  sell  at  a  price 
above  cost  or  suspend  operations.  In  Switzerland  an  attempt 
was  made  recently  to  get  a  constitutional  amendment  declar- 
ing the  existence  of  a  "  right  to  employment,"  and  in  that 
country  and  elsewhere  systems  of  insurance  against  "  work- 
lessness  "  have  been  attempted,  but  without  success. 

Each  country  devoted  to  mechanical  production  is  strug- 
gling with  this  problem,  and  at  the  same  time  with  the  prob- 
lem of  how  to  dispose  of  surplus  products.  It  is  a  very 
complicated  sociological  question,  and  as  the  altruistic  spirit 
increases,  under  which  every  man  and  every  community  of 
men  is  desirous  of  seeing  every  other  man  fairly  prosperous 
and  engaged  in  productive  employment,  the  efforts  to  find  a 
solution  will  grow  stronger  till  governments  are  called  upon  to 
aid  the  efforts.  It  is  a  pretty  problem  for  human  organisation 
to  provide  productive  labour  for  all  who  are  willing  to  work. 

131.    The  Tramp. 

But  how  shall  tramps,  idlers  from  choice,  be  prevailed  upon 
to  work?  The  number  of  this  class  of  persons  is  undoubtedly 
greatly  exaggerated,  as  was  shown  a  few  years  ago  in  one  of 
the  Eastern  States,  when  an  officer  secured  returns  from  each 
municipality  of  the  number  of  tramps  housed  at  public  expense 
each  night  during  the  year.  He  arrived  at  the  startling  result 
that  in  that  State  there  were  something  over  60,000  tramps, 
frightening  his  fellow-citizens,  and  bringing  down  severe  com- 


246  Systems  of  Labour.  [§131 

meats  upon  his  State.  Therefore  the  same  officer,  and  others 
in  other  departments,  undertook  to  ascertain  the  exact  number 
of  tramps  housed  on  a  particular  night  and  at  different  periods 
of  the  year,  and  found  that  the  greatest  number  of  tramps  shown 
to  be  present  in  the  State  at  any  one  time  was  about  1,100. 
By  rapid  marches  and  countermarches  in  and  out  of  the  vari- 
ous station-houses  and  lodging-houses,  this  regiment  of  tramps 
had  multiplied  itself  into  an  army.  The  report  of  Dr.  Davis 
R.  Dewey  to  the  Massachusetts  legislature  on  the  question  of 
the  unemployed  gives  the  number  of  wayfarers  and  tramps  in 
many  localities  in  Massachusetts. 

The  tramps  who  are  found  in  this  country  embody  the 
gypsy  element  to  a  large  degree.  They  have  no  particular 
relation  to  the  industrial  system  :  they  are  parasitic,  and  hang 
on  to  the  edges  of  civilisation ;  they  get  a  certain  enjoyment 
out  of  life  through  freedom  from  responsibility  and  from  the 
necessity  of  self-support.  As  a  rule,  they  are  not  men  seeking 
employment,  but  are  fond  of  adventure,  and,  as  a  class,  will 
exist  so  long  as  society  supports  them.  The  facts  gathered  by 
Dr.  J.  J.  McCook,  of  Hartford,  and  by  others  tend  to  confirm 
this  idea  of  the  tramp  army.  The  only  usefulness  which  so 
far  seems  to  come  from  their  adventures  is  the  fund  of  humour 
they  supply  to  comic  papers. 

132.   The  Sweating  System. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  so-called  sweating  system 
is  a  product  of  the  modern  system  of  industry ;  so  far  from  it, 
it  is  a  relic  of  the  system  which  prevailed  universally  prior  to 
the  introduction  of  the  factory  system  ;  for  under  the  hand 
or  domestic  system  of  labour  the  sweating  system  was  quite 
universal. 

The  term  "  sweating  system  "  is  specifically  used  to  describe 
a  condition  of  labour  in  which  a  maximum  amount  of  work  in  a 
given  time  is  performed  for  a  minimum  wage,  and  in  which 
the  ordinary  rules  of  health  and  comfort  are  disregarded. 
These  conditions  are  found  in  crowded  populations  in  large 


§  132]  Sweating  System.  247 

cities,  where  work  is  carried  on  in  living-rooms,  away  from 
manufacturing  establishments.  The  sweat-shop  is  the  small 
shop  of  the  master  and  journeyman  conducted  in  connection 
with  the  household,  the  very  method  that  existed  prior  to  the 
advent  of  our  modern  system.  It  prevails  where  manufacturers, 
especially  of  clothing,  "put  out"  work,  as  it  is  called;  that  is, 
where  they  give  the  material,  properly  cut  out  for  the  manu- 
facture of  garments,  into  the  hands  of  a  man  who  is  known  as 
a  sweater  (really  a  small  contractor),  who  in  turn  hires  men 
and  women  and  children  to  make  up  the  goods  under  condi- 
tions of  labour,  discomfort,  and  meagre  wages  which  justify  his 
title.  This  small  contractor  pays  barely  living  wages,  and  when 
the  garments  are  finished  he  turns  them  over  to  the  large  dealer 
or  manufacturer  with  whom  he  has  his  contract. 

Contrary  to  general  opinion,  this  system  is  not  peculiar  to 
the  manufacture  of  the  cheapest  grade  of  garments;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  oftentimes  the  highest  grade  of  ready-made 
clothing  is  made  by  the  sweater. 

The  employees  in  this  work  are  usually  very  ignorant,  are 
importations  from  eastern  Europe,  and  are  willing  to  work  at 
a  trade  which  requires  little  apprenticeship  and  at  the  lowest 
wage  in  order  to  get  an  economic  foothold.  Crowded  in  close 
rooms,  without  regard  to  sex  or  age,  the  evils  of  the  sweat-shop 
come  very  largely  within  the  domain  of  morals,  although  the 
economic  phases  should  demand  consideration.  London 
abounds  in  shops  of  this  class  ;  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Chicago  are  the  places  in  this  country  in  which  these  sweat- 
shops are  more  generally  found.  Public  attention  of  late  has 
been  very  sharply  called  to  their  existence,  and  to  the  very 
bad  conditions  which  surround  the  workers,  and  efforts  have 
been  made  not  only  to  regulate  but  to  abolish  all  such  places. 
So  far  the  surest  preventive  has  been  found  in  extending  the 
laws  relating  to  factory  inspection  to  the  sweat-shop.  When 
this  extension  becomes  general,  and  the  laws  are  faithfully 
executed  by  a  competent  corps  of  inspectors,  this  relic  of  the 
old  domestic  system  will  give  way  to  the  more  beneficent  modern 


248  Systems  of  Labour.  [§  132 

system.  Sanitary  conditions,  consisting  of  healthful  places  in 
which  work  is  carried  on,  will  do  much  to  remove  the  physical 
evils  accompanying  the  method,  and  by  the  regulation  of  the 
number  of  persons  to  be  employed  within  a  given  space,  much 
of  the  immorality  prevailing  in  the  sweat-shop  will  cease. 

-  Some  effort  has  been  made  to  colonise  the  sweat-shop  work- 
ers of  New  York  on  the  farms  of  Connecticut,  but  an  observer 
has  discovered  that  the  principal  crop  produced  by  these  honest 
countrymen  is  "  bicycle  pants,"  made  up  from  bundles  of  cloth 
sent  up  by  manufacturers. 

Another  method  of  killing  the  sweat-shop  is  found  in  the 
use  of  what  is  called  the  union  label,  by  which  labour  unions 
secure  the  manufacture  of  goods  under  their  supervision,  and 
by  which  customers  may  be  informed  that  the  goods  purchased 
were  produced  under  proper  conditions.  The  union  label  has 
been  subjected  to  some  abuse,  but  it  has  a  future,  and  the  good 
or  bad  results  of  its  use  will  depend  upon  the  integrity  with 
which  it  is  employed. 

Closely  related  to  the  union  label  are  the  efforts  of  what  is 
called  the  Consumers'  League,  or  White  League,  or  other 
organisation  which  undertakes  to  inform  the  public  as  to  places 
where  goods  that  have  been  produced  under  sanitary  conditions 
and  through  the  payment  of  decent  wages  may  be  purchased. 
The  Consumers'  League  is  what  may  be  called  a  very  high- 
toned  boycott,  under  which  dealers  in  sweat-shop  goods  may 
be  avoided,  and  consequently  driven  into  the  adoption  of 
methods  which  will  insure  trade.  The  movement  is  an  inter- 
esting one,  but  there  are  various  complications  under  it ;  for 
instance,  as  pointed  out  by  Dr.  John  Graham  Brooks,  in  his 
valuable  pamphlet  on  the  Consumers'  League,  What  will  be- 
come of  the  sweat-shop  workers  when  they  are  deprived  of 
work  through  the  ethical  efforts  of  such  a  league  and  the  use  of 
the  union  label  ?  The  old  moral  question  arises,  whether  the 
good  of  the  majority  is  to  be  conserved,  even  at  the  cost  of  a 
miserable  minority.  All  these  efforts,  with  an  effective  system 
of  factory  inspection,  will  undoubtedly  mitigate  the  evils  of  tht 


§133]  Benefits  to  Society.  249 

sweating  system  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  ultimately  remove  it. 
One  flower  at  least  has  bloomed  in  a  sweat-shop ;  the  remark- 
able poems  of  Moritz  Grundmann,  himself  a  clothing  maker, 
set  forth  his  experience  of  labour  and  pain  in  the  New  York 
sweat-shops. 

133.   General  Benefits  to  Society  of  the  New  System  of 
Labour. 

Considering  the  old  and  new  systems  of  labour  on  the  broad- 
est possible  basis,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  society  has 
been  greatly  benefited  through  the  opening  of  employments  to 
as  large  a  part  of  the  people  as  possible.  There  has  been 
great  utilisation  of  natural  forces  which  could  not  have  been 
developed  under  the  old  system  :  this  development  has  logically 
opened  opportunities  for  employment  and  for  the  improvement 
of  the  character  of  employees ;  it  has  brought  about  a  desire 
for  higher  intelligence,  a  knowledge  of  natural  laws  and  of 
industrial  conditions,  which  in  turn  has  necessitated  the  expan- 
sion of  the  school  system,  thus  opening  the  way  for  the  employ- 
ment of  a  large  number  of  persons,  especially  women,  in  the 
ranks  of  teachers.  This,  again,  brings  into  service  first-class 
intellects ;  and  should  comparisons  be  drawn  between  this 
country  and  others,  it  would  be  found  that  the  chance  of  an 
intelligent  girl  in  Germany,  for  instance,  to  secure  a  high  grade 
of  employment  is  far  below  that  of  an  intelligent  American  girl. 
This  country  does  not  present  scenes  which  can  be  found  in 
industrial  walks  in  other  countries,  unless  it  be  during  the  first 
years  of  the  residence  of  immigrants.  One  of  the  most  satis- 
factory results  of  this  condition  of  affairs  in  our  own  country  is 
that  nowhere  will  be  found  that  respect  for  and  consideration  of 
women  that  exist  with  us.  While  the  new  system  of  labour  has 
been  developed  in  other  countries,  the  general  intelligence 
accompanying  the  development  in  the  United  States  has  been 
on  broader  lines,  and  as  it  has  taken  place  under  institutions 
which  reflect  common  intelligence,  it  is  but  a  necessary  corol- 
lary that  the  conditions  surrounding  the  development  are  of  a 
higher  grade  than  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


134.   References. 

John  A.  Hobson,  The  Evolution  of  Modern  Capitalism :  A  Study  of 
Machine  Production;  J.  S.  Nicholson,  Effect  of  Machinery  on  Wages; 
David  A.  Wells,  Recent  Economic  Changes  ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Indus- 
trial Evolution  of  the  United  States,  chs.  xxvii.-xxix. ;  Starr  Hoyt  Nichols, 
Men  and  Machinery,  in  North  American  Review,  CLXVI.  602  (May, 
1898);  Walter  L.  Ramsdell,  Shall  Man  be  supplanted  by  Machinery?  in 
Donahoe's  Magazine,  XXXVIII.  521  (Dec.,  1897);  Horace  G.  Wadlin, 
Does  Machinery  depress  the  Laborer  fin  Donahoe's  Magazine,  XXXIX. 
in  (Feb.,  1898);  W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  Rationalism  in  Europe,  II.  332 
(rev.  ed.,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1890)  ;  C.  Wood  Davis,  Does  Machinery 
displace  Labor,  in  Forum,  XXV.  603  (July,  1898) ;  U.  S.  Commissioner  of 
Labour,  Second  Special  Report  (Labour  Laws  of  Various  States,  etc.), 
Fourth  Special  Report  (especially  John  Graham  Brooks,  Compulsory  Insur- 
ance in  Germany},  Fifth  Annual  Report  (Railroad  I, abour),  Thirteenth  An- 
nual Retort  (Hand  and  Machine  Labour),  and  Bulletin  No.  12  (especially 
W.  F.  Willoughby,  Inspection  of  Factories  and  Workshops  in  the  United 
States) ;  reports  of  factory  inspectors  ;  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics 
of  Labour,  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  (1883)  ;  Bureau  of  Statistics  of 
Labour  of  New  Jersey,  Eleventh  Annual  Report  (1888);  W.  Irving 
Taylor,  Employers'  Liability  to  their  Workmen,  etc. ;  Henry  W.  Wolff, 
Employers'  Liability:  What  Ought  it  to  be?  William  F.  Willoughby, 
Workingmen"  s  Insurance;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Are  the  Rich  Growing 
Richer  and  the  Poor  Poorer?  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  LXXX.  300  (Sept., 
1897). 

135.   The  Effect  of  Machinery. 

One  of  the  chief  appliances,  or  rather  the  foundation,  of  the 
modern  labour  system  is  machinery.  The  statistics  of  pro- 
duction reveal  the  fact  that  at  this  day  nearly  all  commodities 
have  been  subjected  at  some  stage  to  the  machine  process  of 
production.  Hence  there  is  a  wide-spread  belief  that  the 
general  introduction  of  machinery,  or  the  application  of  in- 
vention to  production,  has  resulted  in  a  great  displacement 

250 


§135]  Effect  of  Machinery.  251 

of  labour,  and  our  next  inquiry  is  whether  labour-saving 
machines,  so-called,  have  really  deprived  men  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  labour. 

This  important  question  is  subject  to  an  affirmative  and  a 
negative  answer,  according  to  the  point  of  view  from  which 
the  question  is  approached.  To  the  individual  who  finds 
himself  even  temporarily  thrown  out  of  employment  on 
account  of  the  adoption  of  a  new  invention  the  answer  must  be 
in  the  affirmative  ;  to  men  collectively  the  answer  must  be  in 
the  negative.  Whether  the  individual  man  continues  to  suffer 
often  depends  upon  his  particular  skill  and  general  knowledge 
and  the  facility  with  which  he  can  adapt  himself  to  new  lines 
of  employment.  The  question  is  an  old  one  to  the  people 
living  now,  but  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago  it  was  a 
new  one  and  could  not  then  be  answered  so  positively. 

Every  material  improvement  by  which  society  is  permanently 
benefited  temporarily  hurts  somebody  or  disturbs  some  interest ; 
every  advance  in  civilisation  means  the  temporary  discom- 
fort, inconvenience,  and  loss,  even,  to  some  man  or  some  set  of 
men.  For  an  illustration  of  this  position  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  section  on  the  sweating  system  and  the  work  of  the 
Consumers'  League.  The  difficulty  there  presented  compre- 
hends the  loss  of  work  to  low-paid  sweat-shop  employees  for 
the  sake  of  the  general  good.  No  one  would  for  a  moment 
consider  the  restriction  of  the  liquor  traffic  as  harmful  to  the 
country  at  large ;  yet  the  cessation  of  the  manufacture  of  malt 
and  spirituous  liquors  would  deprive  the  farmers  of  this 
country  temporarily  of  a  market  for  more  than  sixty  million 
bushels  of  grain,  and  agricultural  stagnation  in  a  far  greater 
degree  than  has  ever  been  experienced  would  be  the  result ; 
and  when  considering  the  manufacture  of  liquors  and  the 
traffic  therein,  according  to  recent  estimates  there  would  be 
probably  one  and  a  quarter  billion  dollars  of  capital  thrown  out 
of  active  and  remunerative  employment,  nearly  half  a  million 
persons  deprived  of  wages,  transportation  crippled,  and  a  vast 
train  of  temporary  industrial  evils  would  follow. 


252  Modern  Labour  System.  [§  135 

The  introduction  of  machinery,  which  took  place  on  the 
present  lines  between  1760  and  1770.  was  met  with  riots  and 
opposition  which  at  one  time  looked  like  the  suppression  of 
invention.  When  Hargreave's  jenny  was  first  brought  into 
use  people  said  that  he  could  by  some  unknown  power  spin 
more  threads  than  any  one  else ;  and  his  invention,  instead  of 
gaining  him  admiration  and  gratitude,  excited  the  suspicion 
of  the  spinners,  who  raised  an  outcry  that  it  would  throw  mul- 
titudes out  of  employment.  A  mob  broke  into  his  house  and 
destroyed  not  only  his  spinning-jenny,  but  most  of  his  furniture. 
These  scenes  have  been  repeated  all  along  the  history  of  the 
application  of  inventions  in  the  mechanic  arts ;  yet  the 
capital  of  millions  of  pounds  sterling  which  first  built  factories 
with  power  machinery  for  spinning  and  weaving  was  made 
available  by  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  in  which  it  had 
previously  been  engaged ;  and  by  the  new  use  the  cost  of 
clothing  was  reduced  and  the  consumption  of  raw  material 
vastly  increased. 

When  a  thousand  threads  could  be  spun  on  a  single  machine 
whereas  only  one  could  be  spun  by  hand,  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  new  force  met  with  great  opposition.  Even  at  this 
day  the  same  argument  affects  many  well-meaning  people. 
But  it  is  not  true  that  men  in  the  aggregate  have  been 
deprived  of  labour  through  what  are  called  labour-saving 
machines  :  if  they  do  in  the  initiative  save  labour  to  their 
owners,  they  also  make  labour  in  the  aggregate ;  if  they 
supplement  individual  muscular  force  to  a  very  large  extent, 
they  create  or  expand  labour  in  the  long  run.  So  the  answer 
to  society  must  be  that  such  machines  do  not  deprive  men  of 
labour,  and  this  position  is  so  clearly  supported  by  the  present 
facts  in  the  case  that  it  is  not  really  necessary  to  go  back 
of  the  experience  of  the  last  generation  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

In  1870  the  per  capita  consumption  of  iron  in  the  United 
States  was  105.64  pounds;  in  1900  it  was  410  pounds.  This 
vast  increase  is  in  its  results  a  fair  offset  to  the  effects  of 


§  136]  Skilled  and  Unskilled.  253 

any  individual  displacement  which  may  have  occurred.  The 
consumption  of  steel  in  1880  was  46  pounds  per  capita;  and 
in  1900  it  had  risen  to  305  pounds.  The  per  capita  con- 
sumption of  cotton  in  this  country  in  1830  was  a  little  less 
than  i o  pounds;  in  1900  it  was  almost  22.5  pounds.  This 
indicates  that  the  labour  necessary  to  earn  such  consumption 
must  have  kept  up  to,  if  not  gone  far  beyond,  the  earlier 
standard  of  employment,  as  measured  by  the  actual  number 
of  people  employed. 

136.    Proportions  of  Skilled  and  Unskilled  Labour. 

The  value  of  statistics  in  correcting  popular  but  fallacious 
impressions  is  conclusively  shown  in  this  particular  question  ; 
for  statistics  show  that  in  those  countries  where  manufacturing 
industries  have  been  developed  to  the  greatest  extent,  a  larger 
proportion  of  the  people  are  employed  than  in  countries 
where  mechanical  industries  do  not  prevail.  This  could  not 
be  the  case  if  the  introduction  of  machinery  has  deprived  men 
of  labour. 

Take  another  point  of  view.  The  most  prolific  period  of 
inventions  in  America  was  from  1860  to  1900,  and  conse- 
quently any  unfavourable  influence  must  have  developed  ;  yet 
while  the  population  increased  from  1870  to  1900  96  per 
cent,  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  all  gainful  occupa- 
tions (manufacturing,  agriculture,  domestic  service,  —  all  occu- 
pations) increased  over  132  per  cent.  In  the  two  decades 
from  1880  to  1900  the  population  increased  51  per  cent, 
while  the  number  of  persons  in  all  occupations  increased  over 
67  per  cent. 

Making  a  closer  analysis  of  the  statements  from  which  the 
foregoing  are  drawn,  it  is  found  that  the  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  those  engaged  in  manufacturing,  mechanical,  mining,  and 
quarrying  industries  —  those  which  must  have  felt  the  influence 
of  inventions  more  than  other  lines  of  industry  —  was,  for  the 
period  from  1870  to  1900,  168  per  cent,  while  the  total 
population  increased  but  06  per  cent.  It  is  impossible  to 


254  Modern  Labour  System.  [§136 

escape  the  conclusion  that  the  results  of  the  application  of 
machinery  must  have  been  in  the  aggregate  beneficial,  instead 
of  detrimental,  —  more  men  must  have  been  called  into  active 
employment  as  machines  were  more  generally  applied. 

It  is  sometimes  asserted  by  those  who  consider  machinery 
inimical  to  the  interest  of  labour  that,  even  admitting  a  gain 
in  numbers  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  and  in  some 
other  industries,  there  has  been  a  falling  off  in  agriculture. 
This  is  true  relatively,  but  is  not  a  sound  argument  against 
the  fact  that  the  total  number  of  the  people  employed  in- 
creases relative  to  the  total  population.  Intensive  agriculture 
leads  to  greater  production  for  a  given  area,  and  results  in  the 
employment  of  a  less  number  of  farm  labourers,  relatively. 

Society  may  be  compared  to  a  pyramid,  the  base  repre- 
senting its  lower  stratum,  and  the  apex  the  few  in  whose  hands 
are  to  be  found  the  vast  fortunes ;  but  in  all  progressive  coun- 
tries the  form  of  the  pyramid  is  changing,  the  apex  broadening 
to  a  plane  and  the  base  becoming  restricted.  In  1870  the 
12,505,923  workers  —  32.43  per  cent  of  the  total  population  — 
supported  themselves  and  the  remainder  of  the  people.  In 
1880  the  number  of  breadwinners  was  17,392,099,  or  34.68 
per  cent  of  the  total  population  ;  in  1890  this  number  had  risen 
to  22,735,661,  or  36.31  per  cent  of  the  total  population,  and 
in  1900  (for  the  mainland  of  the  United  States)  to  29,074,1 17, 
or  38.26  per  cent  of  the  total  population.  Analysing  the  statis- 
tics, we  find  some  remarkable  results.  The  number  engaged 
in  the  lowest  walks  of  activity,  labourers  and  the  like,  is  de- 
creasing in  proportion,  while  those  employed  in  the  higher 
walks  are  increasing  in  number  relatively  to  the  whole  popula- 
tion. For  purposes  of  demonstration,  let  us  consider  the 
population  in  four  groups. 

The  first  group,  consisting  of  farmers  and  planters  who  are 
proprietors,  bankers,  brokers,  manufacturers,  merchants,  and 
dealers,  and  those  engaged  in  professional  pursuits,  constituted 
10.17  per  cent  of  the  whole  population  in  1870,  11.22  per 
cent  in  1880,  11.97  Per  cen'  m  1890,  and  11.34  in  1900, 
showing  a  relative  steady  gain  in  the  proportion  of  this  high 
class  of  breadwinners  to  the  whole  population. 


§  136]  Skilled  and  Unskilled.  255 

A  second  group,  composed  of  agents,  collectors,  commercial 
travellers,  book-keepers,  clerks,  salesmen,  and  others  in  kin- 
dred occupations  in  1870  constituted  0.91  per  cent  of  the 
whole  population;  in  1880  the  percentage  rose  to  1.25,  in 
1890  it  reached  2.15,  and  in  1900  it  was  2.74,  showing  again 
a  constant  increase  in  relative  proportions. 

The  third  group  includes  the  skilled  workers  of  the  com- 
munity, such  as  clothing-makers,  engineers,  and  firemen,  food 
preparers,  leather  workers,  those  engaged  in  the  mechanical 
trades,  metal  workers,  printers,  engravers,  and  bookbinders, 
steam  railroad  employees,  textile  workers,  tobacco  and  cigar 
factory  operatives,  wood  workers,  etc. ;  they  constituted  6.59 
percent  of  the  whole  population  in  1870,  7.18  percent  in 
1880,  8.75  percent  in  1890,  and  8.90  per  cent  in  1900,  a 
constantly  increasing  relative  proportion. 

The  fourth  group  —  agricultural  labourers,  boatmen,  fisher- 
men, sailors,  draymen,  hostlers,  ordinary  labourers,  miners, 
and  quarrymen,  messengers,  packers,  porters,  servants,  and  all 
other  pursuits  of  like  grade  —  shows  a  different  state  of  things  ; 
for  in  1870  this  class  of  workers  constituted  14.76  per  cent  of 
the  total  population,  and  in  1900  15.28  per  cent,  while  the 
sum  of  the  three  other  classes  was  in  1870  17.67,  and  in  1900 
22.98. 

These  facts  show  clearly  that  the  increase  in  the  proportion 
of  people  employed  to  the  whole  number  of  people  is  found  in 
the  numbers  engaged  in  the  skilled  trades  and  in  semi-profes- 
sional callings.  Hence  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  the  ranks 
of  skilled  labour,  which  are  constantly  being  increased,  are  draw- 
ing from  the  ranks  of  unskilled  labour ;  for  the  proportion  of 
common  labour  of  every  kind — labour  which  demands  simply 
the  application  of  muscle  with  very  little  use  of  tools  —  re- 
mains nearly  stationary,  so  far  as  numbers  are  concerned. 

Another  proof  in  the  same  direction  comes  from  the  usual 
object  of  machines,  to  perform  the  operations  of  common  un- 
skilled labour ;  but  the  effect  of  machinery  is  positive  as  well 
as  negative ;  it  necessitates  not  only  the  greatest  care  in  pres- 


256  Modern  Labour  System.  [§136 

ervation,  but  also  in  operation ;  so  a  man  who  is  intelligent 
enough  to  run  one  machine  is  usually  intelligent  enough  to 
learn  quickly  how  to  operate  another  in  some  other  industry. 
Unskilled  and  ignorant  labour  cannot  make  such  sudden  turns. 
Here  is  seen  the  beneficent  results  of  the  introduction  of 
power  machinery. 

137.   Does  the  Use  of  Machinery  degrade  Labour? 

This  position  in  large  degree  destroys  the  commonly  accepted 
view  that  the  use  of  machinery  degrades  the  individual  intel- 
lect and  that  under  such  use  the  mechanic  is  deteriorating.1 
Many  writers,  from  Adam  Smith  down,  accept  the  idea  that 
in  making  small  parts  of  large  machines,  as  in  making  small 
articles,  there  is  a  stupefying  effect  not  experienced  in  making 
whole  things.  Very  true,  if  the  man  who  has  been  making 
whole  things  is  set  to  work  upon  small  parts ;  the  fact  is  the 
man  who  makes  the  small  parts  or  the  small  articles,  and 
is  thus  subjected  to  what  is  called  the  "  terrible  monotony  of 
machine  occupation,"  is  not  the  man  who  is  capable  of  making 
whole  things,  but  is  a  man  who  has  been  lifted  out  of  some 
more  monotonous  calling,  and  by  machinery  promoted  to 
labour  which  calls  for  the  exercise  of  some  intellect.  The 
use  of  machinery  compels  sobriety  on  the  part  of  the  operative  ; 
there  has  been  no  more  powerful  or  effective  temperance 
worker  than  the  machine.  The  testimony  in  this  direction 
is  most  gratifying.  The  life  and  limb  of  a  man  with  a  mud- 
dled brain  are  in  danger  in  the  presence  of  machinery,  while 
the  damage  done  to  the  works  by  habitual  drunkards  under- 
taking to  manage  them  of  necessity  compels  the  employer  to 
engage  men  who  corne  to  their  employment  with  clear  heads. 
Machinery  does  not  degrade  labour,  but  elevates  it. 

138.   Machinery  and  New  Industries. 

The  greatest  increase  in  the  employment  of  people  at. 
advanced  wages  is  to  be  found  in  those  industries  where  the 

1  See  "  Employment,"  under  Chapter  XIII.  above. 


§  138]  Machinery  and  Labour.  257 

highest  grades  of  machines  have  been  introduced.  Machines 
not  only  create  new  demands  in  old  lines,  they  also  create 
occupations  that  never  existed  prior  to  their  introduction. 
Thousands  of  people  are  employed  in  telegraphy,  where  not  a 
single  individual  has  been  displaced.  These  thousands  find 
remunerative  employment  in  the  construction  of  telegraph 
lines,  the  manufacture  of  instruments,  and  the  operation  of 
lines.  The  telephone  has  added  to  this  accumulation,  while 
the  whole  field  of  electrical  appliances  has  provided  for  the 
employment  of  armies  of  skilled  workers,  and  the  employments 
known  in  the  past  have  not  been  trenched  upon.  Electro- 
plating, as  a  subdivision  of  the  application  of  electricity,  has 
brought  remunerative  and  congenial  employment  to  many 
thousands  of  people. 

If  we  look  at  the  introduction  of  railroads  the  same  general 
result  is  to  be  seen.  The  railroads  of  the  country  employ  in 
their  operation  more  than  three  quarters  of  a  million  people. 
When  we  look  at  the  construction  of  road-beds,  of  rolling 
stock,  and  all  the  necessary  equipment  for  convenient  and 
commodious  travel,  it  is  certain  on  reflection  that  new  occupa- 
tions have  been  offered  to  vast  numbers  of  wage-receivers. 
The  results  of  the  invention  of  water-proof  clothing,  sewing- 
machines,  printing  devices,  of  inventions  in  innumerable  direc- 
tions, have  more  than  offset  by  expansion  any  displacement  of 
labour  that  can  be  shown  in  other  directions. 

A  few  years  ago,  on  the  opening  of  the  electric  line  between 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  by  which  people  could  have  a  ser- 
vice every  few  minutes  between  the  two  cities,  complaint  was 
made  that  it  had  practically  thrown  out  of  employment  the 
brakemen  and  other  hands  employed  on  the  steam  railway. 
On  inquiry  it  was  admitted  that  under  the  old  steam-road 
regime  the  trains  were  not  very  frequent  between  the  two 
cities,  and  that  only  six  or  eight  people  were  practically  injured 
by  the  new  order  of  things,  while  sixty-five  men  were  required 
to  run  the  electric  cars  which  displaced  the  former  trains. 

Indeed,  rapid  transit  in  our  great  cities  has  been  instrumen- 

17 


258  Modern  Labour  System.  [§138 

tal  in  bringing  a  vast  number  of  well-informed  men  into  active 
employment ;  a  low-grade  man  cannot  run  an  electric  car ;  he 
must  have  intelligence  enough  to  understand  and  comprehend 
the  methods  necessary  for  the  propulsion  of  the  cars,  and  as 
an  intelligent  being  he  is  vastly  superior  to  the  man  required 
to  drive  the  horses  of  an  ordinary  street-car. 

Another  recent  invention  that  has  aroused  agitation  and 
contention  in  labour  circles  is  the  linotype  machine.  For- 
tunately for  society  at  large,  the  compositors  are  a  very  in- 
telligent body  of  men.  Their  work  is  regulated  by  the 
Typographical  Union.  When  the  linotype  machine  was  first 
introduced  successfully,  the  compositors  felt  some  apprehen- 
sion that  their  occupation  would  be  seriously  injured,  and 
many  men  permanently  thrown  out  of  employment.  Many  men 
were  thrown  out  of  employment,  but  the  testimony  of  officers 
of  the  Typographical  Union,  publishers,  and  newspaper  man- 
agers is  that  at  the  present  time  there  are,  in  all  probability, 
as  many  men  employed  in  setting  type,  either  by  the  old 
methods  or  by  the  new,  as  before  the  linotype  was  introduced. 
The  conclusion  is  perfectly  rational  that  a  very  few  years  will 
see  a  large  relative  increase  in  compositors.  The  great  de- 
mand for  reading  matter  of  all  grades  necessitated  the  intro- 
duction of  new  methods ;  for  instance,  the  managers  of  every 
political  campaign  and  of  all  parties  depend  now  upon  vast 
quantities  of  reading  matter.  The  committees  of  the  two  great 
political  parties  during  the  presidential  campaign  of  1896  ac- 
tually sent  out  nearly  two  hundred  million  copies  of  documents. 
The  stump  still  holds  its  place,  but  the  printing-press  does  the 
work  of  conversion  from  one  political  position  to  another.  The 
dissemination  of  knowledge  means  the  expansion  of  all  printing 
devices  or  methods  by  which  the  knowledge  can  be  carried  to 
the  individual.  The  farmers  and  mechanics  of  our  country 
are  readers  of  daily  papers,  —  more,  they  are  readers  of  literary 
magazines,  of  art  journals,  — and  the  supply  of  all  the  matter 
at  low  cost  is  a  necessity  which  can  be  met  only  by  invention. 
One  magazine  has  reached  the  enormous  circulation  of  nearly 


§138]  Machinery  and  Labour.  259 

nine  hundred  thousand  copies  per  month.  Under  the  old 
methods  this  would  have  been  a  physical  impossibility.  The 
enormous  editions  of  the  great  dailies  could  never  have  been 
reached  without  the  employment  of  the  power-press,  whose 
limitations  seem  to  have  no  bounds.  The  latest  capacity  of 
the  modern  printing-press  is  ninety-six  thousand  eight-page 
papers  in  one  hour.  To  do  the  presswork  alone  for  this  num- 
ber of  papers  would  take,  on  the  old  plan,  a  man  and  a  boy, 
working  ten  hours  a  day,  one  hundred  and  forty  days.  The 
knowledge  that  is  now  demanded  could  not  be  obtained  with- 
out the  new  devices,  and  the  number  of  men  employed  in 
manufacturing  machines,  in  making  the  paper  necessary  for 
such  enormous  editions,  and  in  the  distribution  of  the  papers, 
together  with  the  news-agents  everywhere,  is  probably  so  large 
that  no  real  displacement  has  taken  place. 

So  for  every  fact  which  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
question  to  show  that  machines  have  deprived  men  of  labour, 
another  fact  can  be  referred  to  which  will  prove  that  more 
men  have  been  supplied  with  labour  than  have  been  deprived 
of  it.  Every  impartial  investigation  of  the  subject  has  proved 
this. 

There  has  been  no  debasement  of  humanity  by  the  substitu- 
tion of  machinery  for  human  labour,  and  there  is  no  danger  in 
such  substitution.  Machinery  has  not  helped  to  create  new 
and  tremendous  inequalities  of  society,  or  turned  thousands 
into  tramps  and  vagabonds,  or  hardened  the  natural  selfishness 
of  men  in  any  way,  as  often  asserted.  It  has  at  times  been  a 
hardship,  for  it  has  created  new  relationships  in  life.  It  has 
changed  the  old  individual  relations  of  the  employer  and  the 
employee  to  the  corporate  relation  ;  but  it  is  now  forcing  men 
to  the  conclusion  that  moral  attributes  are  just  as  powerful, 
and  the  application  of  moral  principles  just  as  feasible,  under 
the  new  corporate  as  under  the  old  individual  relations.  It 
has  been  the  means  of  reducing  the  work-day  from  twelve  or 
fourteen  hours  to  nine  or  ten  hours,  and  the  inevitable  result 
will  be  still  further  reduction  in  the  time  necessary  for  the 


260  Modern  Labour  System.  [§  138 

earning  of  a  living.  It  has  not  only  shortened  the  work-day  ; 
it  has  also  increased  the  remuneration  per  hour. 

These  influences  have  been  going  on  until  there  has  been 
established  a  new  law  of  production,  which  is  that  the  employ- 
ment of  machinery  necessitates,  as  a  rule,  a  larger  outlay  of 
capital  for  the  production  of  a  given  unit;  that  the  profit  to 
capital  on  this  unit  is  decreasing ;  that  the  reward  to  labour  for 
the  same  unit  has  increased  ;  and  that  the  cost  to  the  consumer 
has  decreased. 

Most  machinery  is  expensive,  and  a  works  well  equipped 
with  the  very  best  appliances  finds  itself  obliged,  when  new 
processes  are  invented  and  new  mechanical  devices  brought 
into  existence,  to  sell  its  old  machines  for  old  iron.  Labour 
must  then  replace  it  all,  and  so  the  evolution  of  invention  goes 
on,  ever  widening  the  opportunities  for  employment,  ever 
shortening  the  work-day,  ever  increasing  the  reward  to  labour, 
and  ever  bringing  a  larger  proportion  of  the  whole  population 
into  employment.  In  reaching  this  conclusion,  which  is  substan- 
tially supported  by  actual  facts,  no  consideration  has  been  given 
to  speculative  periods  or  periods  of  depression ;  only  the 
general  tendency  from  one  decade  to  another  can  be  legiti- 
mately considered. 

139.    The  Saving  of  Human  Labour  by  Machinery. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  What  is  the  equivalent  in  man's 
labour  of  the  machines  used  in  production  and  in  other  ways? 
On  this  subject  there  are  many  wild  off-hand  estimates,  which 
have  somehow  secured  recognition  in  papers  and  lectures  ; 
for  instance,  the  assertion  that  the  machinery  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts  is  equal  to  the  labour  of  fifty  million 
men,  and  that  of  Great  Britain  to  the  labour  of  seven  hundred 
million  men.  A  few  years  ago  an  attempt  was  made  at  calcu- 
lations along  these  lines,1  by  which  it  was  shown  that  the 
mechanical  industries  of  the  United  States  were  carried  on  by 
steam  and  water  power,  representing,  in  round  numbers, 

1  United  States  Tenth  Census  (iSSo). 


§139]  Saving  by  Machinery.  261 

3,500,000  horse-power,1  each  horse-power  equalling  the  mus- 
cular labour  of  six  men  ;  that  is  to  say,  if  men  had  been  employed 
to  furnish  the  power  to  carry  on  the  industries  of  this  country, 
it  would  have  required  21,000,000  men,  and  21,000,000  men 
represent  a  population,  according  to  the  ratio  of  the  census  of 
1880,  of  105,000,000;  but  the  industries  in  that  year  were 
carried  on  by  4,000,000  persons,  in  round  numbers,  represent- 
ing a  population  of  20,000,000  only.  There  were  in  the  United 
States  at  the  time  of  the  calculation  referred  to  28,600  loco- 
motives. To  have  done  the  work  of  the  locomotives  upon  the 
common  roads  of  the  country  there  would  have  been  required, 
in  round  numbers,  54,000,000  horses  and  13,500,000  men. 
The  work  was  done,  so  far  as  men  are  concerned,  by  250,000, 
representing  a  population  of  1,250,000,  while  the  population  re- 
quired for  the  number  of  men  necessary  to  have  done  the  work 
with  horses  would  have  been  67,500,000.  To  have  done  the 
work,  then,  accomplished  by  power  and  power  machinery 
in  our  mechanical  industries  and  upon  our  railroads  there 
would  have  been  required  men  representing  a  population  of 
172,500,000,  in  addition  to  the  population  of  the  country  at 
that  time. 

In  Massachusetts,  in  1875,  when  a  similar  calculation  was 
made,  it  was  found  that  the  total  horse-power  of  steam-engines 
and  water-wheels  employed  in  the  industries  of  the  State  was 
equal  to  the  hand  labour  of  1,912,608  men.  The  labour  was 
actually  performed,  with  the  aid  of  motive-power,  by  about 
300,000  men,  women,  and  children. 

These  statements,  while  somewhat  fanciful,  show  the  extreme 
straits  to  which  a  country  would  be  brought  if  it  undertook  to 
perform  its  work  in  the  old  way.  The  figures  are  interesting 
only  because  the  conditions  necessary  to  replace  machinery 
are  utterly  impossible,  but  the  discussion  shows  the  enormous 

1  These  calculations  are  based  upon  those  made  by  Hon.  Edward 
Appleton,  late  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Railroad  Commissioners. 
His  basis  has  simply  been  projected  to  cover  the  United  States. 


262  Modern   Labour  System.          [§  139 

benefits  gained  by  the  people  at  large  through  the  application 
of  improved  motive-power.1 

140.   The  Inspection  of  Factories  and  Workshops. 

The  use  of  machinery  has  necessitated  the  systematic  regu- 
lation and  inspection  of  factories  and  workshops,  as  a  conse- 
quence of  laws  regulating  the  conditions  under  which  work 
shall  be  carried  on.  Naturally  such  legislation  was  first  resorted 
to  in  England,  where  the  factory  system  had  its  birth ;  the 
first  bills  even  were  brought  into  Parliament  by  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
himself  a  great  textile  manufacturer.  From  that  time  on  there 
have  been  few  Parliaments  in  which  bills  have  not  been  intro- 
duced providing  for  some  regulation  or  for  the  amendment  of 
laws  already  enacted.  The  great  body  of  factory  laws  in  Eng- 
land, as  now  codified,  furnish  a  model  for  the  world.  They 
have  been  copied,  so  far  as  conditions  warranted,  in  this 
country,  which  followed  England  in  the  establishment  of  the 
factory  system,  and  to  some  extent  in  the  countries  on  the 
continent  where  the  system  has  obtained  a  lodgment. 

First  in  order  come  the  legal  regulations  relating  to  the  con- 
struction of  factory  buildings,  with  requirements  as  to  the  use 
of  fire-resisting  materials  and  fire-escapes ;  then  come  the 
hygienic  and  sanitary  condition  of  factories,  their  proper  venti- 
lation, heating,  and  lighting ;  the  safety  of  workmen  has  been 
observed  by  the  inspection  of  steam-boilers,  the  examination 
of  engineers  and  firemen,  and  the  inspection  of  mines.  In 
some  of  the  States,  as  a  direct  result  of  the  benefits  of  provid- 
ing for  the  safety  of  persons  employed  in  great  productive 
establishments,  the  principle  has  been  extended  to  include 
public  buildings,  schoolhouses,  churches,  hotels,  theatres,  etc. 

The  laws  are  not  the  same  in  all  the  States  enacting  them, 
the  character  of  the  industries  carried  on  within  a  particular 
State  indicating  the  extent  to  which  law  should  be  applied. 
The  whole  subject  is  of  recent  development  in  this  country, 
Massachusetts  being  the  first  State  to  take  up  the  English  meth- 

1  The  apparent  value  of  products  per  wage-earner  has  increased  from 
51,065  in  1850  to  $2,451  in  1900. 


§  140]          Factories  and  Workshops.  263 

ods  by  a  law  providing  for  the  inspection  of  factories  in  1877. 
At  present,  fourteen  States  out  of  forty-five  have  laws  relating 
to  the  inspection  of  factories  and  workshops,  most  of  them  for- 
mulated on  parts  of  the  Massachusetts  laws,  though  no  other 
State  goes  so  far  as  Massachusetts.  The  duties  of  the  twenty- 
six  officers  exclusively  employed  in  the  inspection  department 
of  that  State  will  best  illustrate  this  whole  subject,  but  not  even 
the  detailed  reports  of  the  several  inspectors  made  to  the  chief 
of  this  force  can  give,  to  those  not  familiar  with  the  matters 
discussed,  an  adequate  idea  of  the  vast  amount  of  its  labours. 
The  inspectors'  duties  embrace  the  enforcement  of  the  laws 
relating  to  the  hours  of  labour ;  the  protection  of  operatives 
from  unguarded  machinery ;  the  employment  of  women  and 
minors ;  the  schooling  of  children  employed  in  factories  and 
workshops ;  the  preservation  of  the  health  of  females  employed 
in  mechanical,  manufacturing,  and  mercantile  establishments; 
reports  of  accidents  in  manufactories  ;  safety  appliances  for  ele- 
vators ;  provisions  for  escape  from  hotels  and  other  buildings  in 
case  of  fire  ;  proper  ventilation  for  factories  and  workshops,  and 
uniform  meal  hours  for  children,  young  persons,  and  women 
employed  therein ;  the  suppression  of  nuisances  from  drains, 
and  provision  for  water-closets,  etc.,  for  the  use  of  each  sex 
employed  in  factories  and  workshops,  and  various  other  sanitary 
regulations ;  the  inspection  of  buildings  alleged  to  be  unsafe  or 
dangerous  to  life  or  limb,  in  case  of  fire  or  otherwise ;  the  sub- 
mission to  the  inspector  for  approval  of  a  copy  of  plans  and 
specifications  of  any  building  designed  for  certain  public  pur- 
poses, as  factory,  workshop,  mercantile  structure,  hotels,  apart- 
ment houses,  lodging  or  tenement  houses,  above  a  certain 
height ;  communication  between  engineer's  room  and  each 
room  where  machinery  is  run  by  steam,  in  every  manufacturing 
establishment ;  proper  safeguards  at  hatchways,  elevator  open- 
ings, and  well-holes  in  public  buildings,  factories,  and  mercan- 
tile establishments  ;  forbidding  the  use  of  portable  seats  in 
aisles  or  passageways  in  public  halls,  theatres,  schoolhouses, 
churches,  and  public  buildings  during  any  service  held  therein ; 


264  Modern  Labour  System.  [§  140 

requiring  fire-resisting  curtains,  approved  by  inspectors  for  use 
in  all  theatres,  etc. ;  competent  watchmen,  lights  in  hotels, 
gongs  or  other  proper  alarms,  and  notices  posted  describing 
the  means  of  escape  from  fire  in  boarding  and  lodging  houses 
above  a  fixed  size,  and  in  family  and  public  hotels  ;  fire  escapes 
on  tenement  or  lodging  houses  three  or  more  stories  in  height ; 
prohibiting  during  working  hours  the  locking  of  any  inside  or 
outside  door  of  any  building  where  operatives  are  employed ; 
cleanliness,  suitable  ventilation,  and  sanitary  conveniences  of 
public  buildings  and  schools ;  the  weekly  payment  of  wages  by 
certain  corporations  to  each  of  their  employees;  the  inspection 
of  uninsured  steam-boilers ;  the  examination  as  to  the  compe- 
tency of  engineers  and  firemen  in  charge  thereof;  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  act  relating  to  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  clothing 
made  in  unhealthy  places  ;  the  enforcement  of  the  act  relative 
to  the  heating  of  street-railway  cars,  and  of  the  act  requiring 
specifications  to  be  furnished  to  persons  employed  in  cotton, 
worsted,  and  woollen  factories. 

The  inspectors  of  the  States  having  such  officers  have  held 
an  annual  convention  since  1887,  known  as  the  International 
Association  ot  Factory  Inspectors.  This  organisation,  though 
created  as  the  result  of  private  efforts,  has  in  a  certain  sense 
an  official  standing,  for  it  aims  to  bring  together  all  officers  of 
the  State  governments  and  of  Canada  whose  duties  relate  to 
the  inspection  of  factories,  workshops,  and  public  buildings. 
The  report  of  the  proceedings  and  the  papers  read  at  the 
conventions  are  not  only  separately  published,  but  are  fre- 
quently included  as  appendices  to  the  report  of  the  inspectors 
of  individual  States. 

The  beneficent  results  of  the  work  of  the  inspectors  is  seen 
here,  as  in  England  and  in  other  countries,  in  the  improved 
condition  of  the  factories  and  workshops  in  which  people  are 
required  to  spend  a  large  amount  of  their  time.  In  some 
localities  their  hygienic  and  sanitary  conditions  are  vastly 
superior  to  those  of  the  homes  in  which  the  operatives  sleep. 
Law  has  not  yet  reached  these  homes,  except  through  efforts 


§  141]  Employers'  Liability.  265 

to  modify  the  evils  of  the  sweating  system  and  to  regulate 
tenement  houses.  Ultimately  laws  must  be  made  for  the 
proper  inspection  of  living  places  the  conditions  of  which  may 
be  favourable  to  the  origin  of  contagious  diseases. 

141.  Employers'  Liability. 

Very  naturally,  while  legislatures  have  been  active  in  secur- 
ing better  conditions  in  industrial  establishments,  they  have 
also  sought  to  change  the  customs  growing  up  under  com- 
mon law  relative  to  the  liability  of  the  owners  of  machinery 
to  those  who  operate  it.  One  of  the  most  marked  instances 
of  this  extension  of  the  powers  of  the  legislature  has  been  in 
reversing  or  modifying  common-law  practice.  Under  the 
common  law  as  it  exists  in  England  and  America,  and  under 
modified  Roman  law  in  the  greater  part  of  the  continent  of 
Europe,  it  is  the  general  rule,  subject  to  modifications  under 
special  circumstances,  that  the  principal  is  responsible  for  the 
acts  of  his  agents,  exactly  as  if  he  performed  the  acts  him- 
self. We  will  not  even  inquire  into  the  justice  of  the  rule,  but 
under  it  a  person  injured  or  aggrieved  by  the  agent  of  another 
has  his  remedy  against  the  principal ;  or,  as  the  language  of 
the  law  puts  it,  a  person  injured  by  the  servant  can  recover  of 
the  master.  Curiously  enough,  this  rule  ordinarily  does  not 
apply  where  the  person  injured  by  the  agent  or  employee  of  an- 
other is  also  an  agent  or  employee  of  the  same  principal ;  that 
is,  B  and  C,  employees  of  A,  cannot  recover  of  the  proprietor 
A  if  one  of  them  is  hurt  or  injured  through  the  carelessness  or 
negligence  of  his  co-employee,  though  he  might  recover  of  A 
if  to  him  (A)  was  due  the  carelessness  or  negligence  ;  even  in 
this  case  the  employee  may  lose  his  claim  if  "  contributory 
negligence  "  can  be  shown  against  him.  It  is  usually  assumed, 
under  the  common-law  rule,  that  the  employee  engages  in  the 
service  of  a  company  or  of  an  individual  employer  with  a  full 
knowledge  of  all  the  risks,  dangers,  and  responsibilities  of  the 
peculiar  employment,  and  therefore  assumes  all  ordinary  risks 
inseparable  from  the  business  and  such  as  may  be  reasonably 


266  Modern  Labour  System.  [§  141 

known  or  assumed ;  but  the  responsibility  of  the  employee 
does  not  apply  under  circumstances  where  the  risk  is  known 
to  the  employer  but  not  to  the  employee,  nor  where  the  em- 
ployer is  under  a  positive  duty  and  the  injury  results  from 
neglect  of  that  duty. 

The  whole  subject  offers  many  opportunities  for  fine  legal 
distinctions  and  the  application  of  what  may  be  called  the 
philosophy  of  law,  and  any  specific  case  would  bristle  with 
exceptions,  limitations,  and  restrictions  of  the  principle.  The 
most  important  limitation  is  that  which  prevents  the  em- 
ployee on  railroads  or  in  large  establishments  from  recov- 
ery as  against  the  employer  when  the  employee  is  injured 
through  the  negligence  or  carelessness  of  a  co-employee. 
This  limitation  is  a  growth  of  recent  years,  and  is  what  is 
ordinarily  denominated  "  judge-made  law ;  "  it  is  the  result 
of  rulings  of  courts  in  various  places,  and  not  of  statutory 
provision. 

The  principle  has  a  good  deal  of  reason  in  it,  under  certain 
restricted  circumstances ;  but  when  broadly  applied  it  appears 
to  many  to  be  so  inconsistent  that  legislatures  are  beginning 
to  restrict  the  common-law  rule  by  positive  statutes.  Under 
the  former  system  of  industry,  before  the  congregation  of 
labour  in  great  factories,  where  the  employee  worked  along- 
side his  fellow-employees  and  with  the  employer  himself, 
the  doctrine  of  "  co-employment  "  had  weight ;  but  how  can 
such  a  rule  be  applied  to  a  brakeman,  on  a  line  hundreds 
of  miles  in  length,  who  suffers  by  the  negligence  of  a  switchman 
whom  he  never  saw,  whose  character  he  did  not  know  when 
he  entered  the  service,  and  to  whose  negligence  he  could  not 
possibly  have  contributed  ?  The  brakeman  cannot,  under  the 
rule,  recover  damages  from  the  railroad  corporation  because 
the  brakeman  and  the  switchman  are  considered  co-employees 
of  the  same  principal.  So  in  a  factory,  the  attendant  of  a  loom 
may  be  quietly  and  industriously  attending  to  her  business  as 
a  weaver,  and  through  the  negligence  or  carelessness  or  drunk- 
enness of  one  who  attends  the  engine  in  the  engine-house  a 


§  142]  Legislation  on  Liability.  267 

thousand  feet  away,  loses  an  arm ;  under  these  circumstances 
the  weaver  cannot  recover  damages  from  the  proprietors  or 
owners  of  the  factory. 

142.  Legislation  affecting  the  Employer's  Liability. 

In  order  to  remedy  the  difficulty,  recourse  has  been  had  to 
statutory  provisions,  by  which  the  common-law  rule  is  abrogated 
or  its  application  limited.  The  first  attempt  at  such  limitation 
was  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain.  After  long  agitation, 
investigations  by  parliamentary  committees,  and  discussions  in 
Parliament,  a  law  in  great  measure  abrogating  the  common- 
law  rule  was  enacted  in  1880,  and  provided  that  where  per- 
sonal injury  is  caused  to  a  workman  — 

(1)  By  reason  of  any  defect   in  the  condition   of  ways, 
works,  machinery,  or  plant,  connected  with  or  used  in  the  busi- 
ness of  the  employer  ;  or 

(2)  By  reason  of  the  negligence  of  any  person  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  employer,  who  has  any  superintendence  intrusted 
to  him,  whilst  in  the  exercise  of  such  superintendence  ;  or 

(3)  By  reason  of  the  negligence  of  any  person  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  employer,  to  whose  orders  or  directions  the  work- 
man, at  the  time  of  the  injury,  was  bound  to  conform,  and  did 
conform,  where  such  injury  resulted  from  his  having  so  con- 
formed ;  or 

(4)  By  reason  of  the  act  or  omission  of  any  person  in  the 
service  of  the  employer,  done  or  made  in  obedience  to  the 
rules  or  by-laws  of  the  employer,  or  in  obedience  to  particular 
instructions  given  by  any  person  delegated  with  the  authority 
of  the  employer  in  that  behalf;  or 

(5)  By  reason  of  the  negligence  of  any  person  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  employer  who  has  the  charge  or  control  of  any 
signal,  points,  locomotive  engine,  or  train  upon  a  railway — 

The  workman,  or,  in  case  the  injury  results  in  death,  the 
legal  personal  representatives  of  the  workman,  and  any  persons 
entitled  in  case  of  death,  shall  have  the  same  right  of  compen- 
sation and  remedies  against  the  employer  as  if  the  workman 


268  Modern  Labour  System.  [§142 

had  not  been  a  workman  of  nor  in  the  service  of  the  employer, 
nor  engaged  in  his  work. 

When  this  English  act  passed,  the  attention  of  employers  and 
employees  everywhere  was  called  to  the  inconsistencies  of  the 
common -law  rule.  Many  corporations  resisted  the  enactment 
of  laws  which  would  tend,  as  they  claimed,  to  the  great  increase 
of  the  expenses  of  running  their  works  or  roads.  Much  fear 
was  expressed  on  the  passage  of  the  bill  through  Parliament 
that  the  results  would  be  disastrous  to  industry  and  prevent 
dividends  on  the  stock  of  railroads.  The  experience  under 
the  law,  however,  has  not  substantiated  these  fears,  while  one  of 
its  best  effects  has  been  to  induce  greater  care  in  the  selection 
of  agents.  Perhaps  this  is  the  very  greatest  benefit  that  can 
be  derived  from  such  a  statute.  The  careful  administration  of 
railroad  service  is  one  of  the  most  vital  features,  so  far  as  the 
public  is  concerned,  and  if  the  law  stimulates  the  selection  of 
the  very  best  skill  in  the  employment  of  men,  it  justifies  its 
enactment.  Certainly  the  financial  disasters  predicted  have 
not  occurred. 

All  the  agitation  on  this  subject  reappeared  in  the  United 
States,  although  the  first  law  which  followed  the  English  legis- 
lation was  quietly  passed  by  the  Alabama  legislature  February  1 2, 
1885.  The  real  agitation,  which  was  imported  from  Great 
Britain,  first  appeared,  so  far  as  labour  organisations,  employees, 
and  employers  were  concerned,  in  Massachusetts  about  1882, 
when  the  whole  subject  was  brought  to  the  basis  of  a  few  simple 
questions  :  Ought  employees  to  have  the  same  right  to  recover 
damages  for  personal  injuries  that  all  others  have?  Should  the 
rule  of  law  which  forbids  employees  from  recovering  damages 
from  their  employers  for  injuries  caused  by  the  negligence  of 
fellow-employees,  and  without  their  own  contributory  negli- 
gence, be  changed?  Should  they  be  allowed  for  similar  inju- 
ries, from  the  same  cause,  the  same  right  to  damages  from  their 
employers  that  the  rest  of  the  world  has  ?  If  —  by  way  of  illus- 
tration—  an  accident  should  occur  on  a  railroad  train,  should  a 
brakeman  have  the  same  riqht  to  sue  for  damages  that  a 


§  i43j  Compulsory  Insurance.  269 

passenger  has?  If  a  brakeman's  arm  should  be  broken 
through  the  carelessness  of  a  switchman  or  a  tender,  should  he 
possess  the  same  right  that  a  passenger  would  have  for  a  simi- 
lar injury? 

In  1887  the  Massachusetts  legislature  enacted  a  law  some- 
what similar  to  the  English  statute,  but  much  simpler  in  its 
construction.  All  the  arguments  which  had  been  brought 
against  the  bill  in  the  British  Parliament  have  been  forcibly 
arrayed  against  the  passage  of  bills  in  this  country.  Notwith- 
standing all  these  objections,  there  are  many  railroad  men, 
either  in  the  administrative  forces  or  in  the  law  departments, 
who  have  seen  plainly  that  such  a  law  can  work  no  serious 
injury  to  the  interests  of  the  country,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
will  conserve  the  safety  of  the  public  and  insure  the  highest 
order  of  intelligence  in  the  great  body  of  railway  employees. 
Here,  as  in  England,  the  fears  of  financial  embarrassment  or 
of  entailing  expense  on  employers  have  not  been  realised. 

The  principle  of  the  new  law  applies  under  certain  condi- 
tions to  employees  in  factories  and  workshops.  Other  States 
have  followed  the  example  of  Alabama  and  Massachusetts,  and 
have  modified  in  some  sense,  or  to  some  extent  weakened,  the 
force  of  the  old  rule.  When  it  was  found  that  employers  were 
putting  a  pressure  on  their  employees  to  agree  to  contracts 
depriving  themselves  of  the  rights  secured  by  the  acts,  new 
legislation  was  found  necessary  to  prevent  the  defeat  of  the 
whole  purpose  of  the  statutes.  So  every  attempt  to  modify 
common-law  rule  by  a  statutory  provision  results  in  complica- 
tions, but  these  complications  are  simplified  as  experience 
dictates. 

143.  Compulsory  Insurance  of  Workingmen. 

If  there  is  a  subject  within  the  whole  range  of  social  econo- 
mics which  relates  to  means  for  promoting  the  material,  social, 
intellectual,  and  moral  prosperity  of  labouring  men  and  women, 
it  is  that  which  deals  with  what  is  called  the  "  economic  inse- 
curity "  attending  the  prosecution  of  great  industries.  The 


270  Modern  Labour  System.  [§  143 

governments  of  Europe  have  striven  to  find  specific  remedies. 
Various  and  complicated  methods  of  charity  have  been  re- 
sorted to,  but,  as  a  rule,  with  the  result  of  only  perpetuating 
the  difficulties  and  evils  sought  to  be  cured.  The  German 
government  has  with  great  courage  put  into  active  practice  the 
system  of  compulsory  insurance  against  sickness,  accidents, 
and  the  infirmities  of  age.  The  theory  upon  which  that  gov- 
ernment has  acted  has  been  ethical  as  well  as  economical  in 
its  principles.  The  example  of  Germany  is  being  followed  by 
other  nations,  and  where  positive  enactment  has  not  resulted 
from  the  influence  of  Germany's  laws,  the  discussion  has  been 
taken  up  by  some  of  the  best  thinkers  of  the  nations  involved. 
In  Great  Britain  the  whole  matter  has  appeared  in  the  pro- 
grams of  different  parties,  and  much  interest  has  been  taken 
in  the  subject.  In  this  country  the  question  of  compulsory 
insurance  has  not  been  much  agitated,  but  it  is  a  subject  which 
sooner  or  later  will  demand  the  attention  of  legislators. 

In  brief,  the  system  is  to  ally  the  government  with  employers 
in  insuring  wage-receivers  against  sickness,  accidents,  and  the 
infirmities  of  age,  a  certain  proportion  of  the  expense  being 
paid  by  the  insured,  another  portion  by  the  employer,  and  the 
balance  by  the  government.  The  machinery  necessary  for 
properly  carrying  out  such  a  system  must,  of  course,  be  ex- 
pensive and  complicated.  The  experience  of  Germany  and 
other  countries  that  have  tried  the  experiment  will  be  watched 
in  this  country  with  increasing  interest,  for  the  presence  of  the 
unemployed,  the  severity  of  competition,  and  the  increasing 
principle  of  altruism  will  ultimately  demand  that  industry  shall 
bear  the  expense  of  providing  for  those  who  have  assisted  in 
its  conduct  and  development. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
RELATIONS  OF  EMPLOYER  AND  EMPLOYEE. 

144.  References. 

Richard  T.  Ely,  The  Labor  Movement  in  America,  and  Problems  of 
To-day ;  T.  V.  Powderly,  Thirty  Years  of  Labor ;  George  E.  McNeill, 
The  Labor  Movement ;  Morton  A.  Aldrich,  The  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  in  American  Economic  Association,  Economic  Stiidies,  III.  No.  4 
(Aug.,  1898)  ;  Victor  H.  Olmsted  and  Stephen  D.  Fessenden,  Employer 
and  Employee  under  the  Common  Law,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour, 
Bulletin  No.  i  ;  F.  J.  Stimson,  Labor  in  its  Relations  to  Law,  and  Hand- 
Book  to  the  Labor  Laws  of  the  United  States,  and  Democracy  and  the  Labor- 
ing Man,  the  last  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  LXXX.  605  (Nov.,  1897)  ;  Alfred 
Marshall,  Economics  of  Industry  ;  William  Thomas  Thornton,  On  Labor; 
George  Howell,  Conflicts  of  Labor  and  Capital,  and  Labor  Legislation, 
Labor  Movements,  and  Labor  Leaders  ;  W  Stanley  Jevons,  Method  of 
Social  Reform  ;  William  B.  Weeden,  The  Social  Law  of  Labor  ;  Wash- 
ington Gladden,  Tools  and  the  Man  ;  History  of  Cooperation  in  the  United 
States  (series  of  papers  composingy^//«j  Hopkins  University  Studies,  VI.) ; 
George  Jacob  Molyoake,  History  of  Co-operation  ;  Henry  D.  Lloyd,  Labor 
Co-partners hip  ;  Nicholas  P.  Gilman,  Profit-sharing  between  Employer  and 
Employee,  and  A  Dividend  to  Labor  ;  ].  F.  Schloss,  Methods  of  Industrial 
Remuneration ;  Thomas  Illingworth,  Distribution  Reform  ;  Francis  A. 
Walker,  The  Wages  Question,  ch.  xv. ;  Edward  W.  Bemis,  Co-operative 
Distribution,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletin  No.  6;  WT.  Stanley 
Jevons,  The  State  in  R:lation  to  I.abor ;  Lord  Brassey,  The  Difficulties 
and  the  Limits  of  Co-operation,  in  ATineteenth  Century,  XLIII.  915  (June, 
1898). 

145.   Personal  Relations. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapter  it  will  be 
readily  seen  that  there  has  been  a  change  in  the  relations  of 
the  employer  and  the  employee,  due  to  the  existing  labour  sys- 
tem. Whatever  advantages  the  employee  has  gained  in  the 
way  of  improved  economic  conditions  through  increase  in 
earnings  and  the  power  to  secure  more  of  the  comforts  and 
luxuries  of  life,  in  intellectual  development,  and  in  many 

271 


272  Employer  and  Employee.  [§  145 

other  directions,  have  been  to  some  extent  at  the  expense  of 
the  direct  personal  relations  existing  under  the  old  system, 
when  the  employer  and  the  employee  worked  side  by  side, 
when  the  apprentice  and  the  journeyman  were,  if  not  actual 
members  of  the  employer's  household,  at  least  his  associates 
in  the  workshop.  The  character  of  the  home  under  the  mod- 
ern system  has  been  changed  for  the  better ;  house  and 
family  conditions  have  been  vastly  improved,  but  that  direct 
personal  contact  of  the  employer  and  the  employee  through 
which  ethical  conditions  existed  has  been  lost  through  the 
aggregated  system  of  production.  It  is  a  mistake,  however, 
to  conclude  that  this  old  relation  does  not  exist  at  present  in 
any  degree,  for  while  corporations  have  very  largely  taken  the 
place  of  individual  enterprises,  and  the  manager  of  assembled 
capital  —  that  is,  capital  derived  from  various  sources  and  con- 
centrated in  the  hands  of  a  corporation  —  is  the  recognised 
representative  with  whom  employees  must  deal,  there  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  still  a  very  great  amount  of  work  done  through 
the  old  individual  method  by  firms  and  individual  propri- 
etors. In  the  latter  case  large  bodies  of  employees  must 
deal  with  the  individual  proprietor,  the  same  as  in  the  case  of 
corporations  they  must  deal  with  the  manager ;  but  when  deal- 
ing with  the  individual  owner,  as  in  some  of  our  large  pro- 
ductive establishments,  they  are  dealing  with  a  man  responsible 
for  his  capital  and  desirous  of  securing  the  very  best  ethical 
relations  with  his  people.  The  manager  is  a  representative, 
and  has  not  the  same  personal  moral  responsibility  that  the 
individual  owner  possesses. 

These  conditions  necessitate  organisation  not  only  of  capi- 
talists but  of  employees.  Corporate  existence  is  met  by 
organised  labour.  There  is  no  other  way  at  present,  and  it 
is  the  true  way;  but  even  the  true  way  involves  on  each  side 
the  most  careful  consideration  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
the  other.  There  must  be  leadership  in  modern  industry, 
but  in  both  directions,  —  leadership  of  the  forces  of  capital 
and  leadership  of  the  forces  of  labour.  \Ve  must  abandon  the 


§  MS]  Personal  Relations.  273 

old  idea  that  the  interests  of  labour  and  capital  are  identical ; 
like  the  interests  of  buyer  and  seller,  they  are  reciprocal,  not 
identical.  Both  employer  and  employee  must  do  something 
which  will  help  the  other,  and  each  must  recognise  that  neither 
can  exist  without  the  existence  and  efforts  of  the  other.  These 
relations  are  necessarily  complicated,  and  the  endeavour  to 
adjust  them  is  what  leads  to  labour  controversies. 

In  almost  all  large  enterprises  the  supervision  of  workmen 
must  be  delegated  to  hired  superintendents.  This  of  itself 
leads  to  friction,  and  to  what  is  perhaps  the  chief  cause  of  our 
modern  labour  troubles,  —  an  attitude  of  suspicion.  A  great 
corporation,  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  competition, 
seeking  to  push  its  products  in  the  different  markets,  making 
its  goods,  perhaps,  with  labour  which  by  combination  has  kept 
its  wages  higher  than  is  paid  by  competitors,  and,  in  addition, 
working  under  the  necessity  of  paying  a  dividend  to  the  mul- 
titude of  stockholders,  —  such  a  corporation  feels  that  it  must 
recognise  only  the  profit  to  be  gained  for  capital ;  yet  it  repre- 
sents oftentimes  hundreds  or  thousands  of  stockholders  who 
have  no  personal  knowledge  whatever  of  the  conditions  of  pro- 
duction or  of  the  necessities  attending  it.  The  employees,  on 
the  other  hand,  imbued  with  all  the  ambitions  of  men,  justly 
seek  the  enhancement  of  their  own  welfare,  and  hence  they 
resent  every  effort  to  reduce  their  wages  or  to  increase  their 
productive  capacity  at  the  expense  of  their  physical  well-being. 
Organisation,  then,  comes  in  conflict  with  organisation,  and 
thus  difficulties  arise. 

Whatever  fundamental  principles  may  be  lost  sight  of,  no 
employer  who  is  himself  seeking  the  increase  of  his  income  or 
the  stability  of  the  dividends  paid  to  the  stockholders  of  a  cor- 
poration can  reject  as  unreasonable  or  unjust  the  desire  of  the 
employee  to  increase  his  income.  It  is  beginning  to  be  re- 
cognised that  when  a  reduction  in  the  earnings  of  the  employee 
seems  necessary,  he  has  just  as  much  right  to  be  informed  of 
the  conditions  requiring  such  a  change  as  the  stockholder  has  to 
be  informed  of  the  conditions  which  necessitate  a  reduction  or 

18 


274  Employer  and  Employee.  [§  145 

a  passing  of  a  dividend,  for  the  employee  jeopardises  in  the 
joint  enterprise  his  only  capital  —  his  capacity  to  work  and 
his  day's  labour  —  as  much  as  the  capitalist  jeopardises  his 
accumulations  invested  in  the  same  enterprise.  Each  is 
interested  in  preserving  stable  conditions  of  production,  so 
that  the  rewards  of  each  may  be  kept  stable  or  increased. 
This  involves  the  whole  ethical  relation  of  employer  and 
employee,  so  far  as  the  conditions  of  production  are  con- 
cerned, but  it  leads  to  that  suspicious  attitude  of  which  men- 
tion has  been  made  ;  for  the  employer  often  attempts  to  reduce 
wages  while  withholding  the  reasons  for  such  action,  on  the 
broad  statement  that  profits  will  not  admit  of  the  further  pay- 
ment of  the  nominal  wages.  When  the  employee  submits 
to  this  action  on  the  promise  that  wages  will  be  restored  with 
the  return  of  prosperous  economic  conditions,  he  too  often 
rinds  he  is  obliged  to  demand  the  return,  and  when  the 
elemand  is  not  acceded  to,  to  take  measures  to  compel  the 
employer  to  increase  wages.  After  one  or  two  experiences  of 
his  kind  the  employees  combine  to  resist  a  reduction,  no 
(natter  what  the  reasons  are  that  necessitate  such  action. 

146.     Relations  -with  Unions. 

These  conditions  bring  about  relations  between  employers 
and  labour  unions.  Such  unions  in  themselves  are  not  new 
elements  in  industry,  for  they  have  existed  in  some  form  under 
all  systems  of  labour,  and  their  existence  can  be  traced  far  back 
in  history.  Their  greatest  development  has  been  seen  in 
Great  Britain,  but  wherever  the  factory  system  is  now  in  vogue 
there  will  be  found  active  labour  unions  organised  for  the  pur- 
pose of  protecting  the  interests  of  the  employees.  Although 
they  have  been  extended  to  include  clerks,  workers  in  mines, 
stevedores,  and,  in  fact,  almost  every  class  of  labour,  they 
embrace  as  yet  only  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  of  those 
engaged  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries,  while 
in  agricultural  labour  they  are  hardly  known.  Their  pecu- 
liar features,  platforms,  and  aims  have  been  outlined  in 
Chapter  V. 


§  146]  Relations  with  Unions.  275 

In  England  the  unions  have  great  power,  and  usually  possess 
treasuries  of  no  mean  proportions.  They  use  their  money  in 
supporting  their  members  when  out  of  work,  in  protecting 
them  in  their  controversies,  in  spreading  their  doctrines,  and 
in  general  for  the  advancement  of  their  aims.  They  are 
responsible  bodies  in  a  certain  sense ;  that  is,  responsible  to 
employers  when  they  insist  upon  the  rejection  of  incapable 
employees  and  volunteer  to  replace  such  with  competent  men. 
In  some  trades  should  such  action  result  in  loss  or  damage,  the 
union  would  be  bound  to  make  it  good  to  the  employer. 

The  unions  have  been  generally  approved  by  English  leaders 
of  industry.  Corporations  and  individual  concerns  co-operate 
with  them  more  largely  than  in  this  or  in  any  other  country. 
English  employers  recognise  that  unions  are  to  continue,  and 
that  by  co-operating  with  them  greater  stability  in  the  condi- 
tions of  production  can  be  secured,  and  that  the  interest  of 
the  producer  in  sustaining  wages  is  clearly  apparent,  for  with 
the  stability  of  wages  there  is  to  be  found  corresponding 
stability  in  prices.  Thus  the  unions  are  a  factor  in  economic 
production. 

In  this  country  there  has  not  been  the  same  development 
nor  the  same  cordial  relations  between  employers  and  unions, 
although  in  some  trades  unions  are  recognised  as  necessary, 
and  there  is  little  opposition  to  them  as  such.  It  is  when 
unions  are  aggressive  and  take  a  part  in  strikes  which  the 
employer  thinks  ought  not  to  have  been  entered  upon,  or 
take  some  action  which  involves  the  economic  condition  of 
production  itself,  that  they  are  opposed.  The  public  recog- 
nises the  necessity  and  the  advisability  of  labour  unions,  but 
public  opinion  is  against  the  union  dominating  employment. 
Such  opinion  does  not  recognise  the  right  of  the  union  to 
declare  that  non-union  men  shall  not  be  employed,  and  cer- 
tainly is  strongly  opposed  to  any  active  measures  to  prevent 
the  employment  of  non-union  men. 

Unions  ought  to  be  legally  incorporated,  and  they  have 
much  to  gain  by  such  incorporation,  as  will  be  seen  when  the 


276  Employer  and  Employee.  [§  146 

subject  of  injunction  is  discussed.  Although  the  laws  of 
several  States  and  of  the  Federal  government  have  provided 
for  the  incorporation  of  labour  unions,  in  all  probability  there 
is  not  a  single  instance  of  such  incorporation  in  the  history  of 
labour  in  this  country. 

What  labour  unions  need  more  than  any  other  one  thing  in 
this  country  is  able  leadership,  free  from  political  ambitions, 
with  the  purpose  to  protect  the  best  interests  of  workingmen 
themselves.  Another  thing  which  is  of  vital  importance  is 
harmonious  action  ;  with  various  bodies  of  employees  organised 
on  different  bases,  and  under  different  leaders,  there  has  always 
existed  great  antagonism,  resulting  in  a  lack  of  harmony  of 
purpose  or  of  action.  This  has  prevented  labour  from  securing 
that  public  recognition  which  comes  from  dignified  and  able 
leadership.  Of  course,  when  speaking  of  unions,  all  labour 
organisations  are  included,  without  reference  to  their  peculiar 
and  distinctive  characteristics,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that 
some  of  the  bodies  have  men  of  wide  intelligence,  knowledge 
of  production,  and  the  personal  characteristics  which  belong 
to  leadership,  and  that  the  time  will  come  when  such  men  will 
be  able  to  unify  the  interests  of  labour,  and  deal  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  capital  on  a  statesmanlike  basis.  Until  that  time 
comes,  there  is  much  to  be  learned  by  either  side. 

Unions  very  naturally  copy  the  methods  of  employers, 
whether  corporate  or  individual,  but  without  the  skill  and 
experience  essential  to  their  successful  application.  Some  of 
them,  as  instanced  in  the  work  of  the  great  railroad  brother- 
hoods, are  approaching  a  condition  under  which  the  real 
force  and  philosophy  of  industry  is  recognised,  and  are  gaining 
an  intelligence  which  will  enable  them  to  overcome  the  condi- 
tions which  arise  from  the  lack  of  knowledge  of  production. 
They  have  intelligence  enough  now  to  understand  their  rights ; 
they  have  desires,  which  have  grown  through  education,  for  a 
higher  standard  of  living;  they  know  what  they  want.  These 
things  lead  to  demands,  —  the  demands  of  increased  intelli- 
gence, —  and  they  must  be  considered  ;  but  they  have  not 


§  147]  Co-operation.  277 

yet  acquired  intelligence  enough  to  secure  the  results  on  a 
large  scale  and  permanently,  or  to  avoid  the  controversies 
which  accompany  their  demands.  They  are  rapidly  acquiring 
the  knowledge  which  will  enable  them  to  meet  the  experience 
and  the  intelligence  of  employers  on  an  equal  footing,  under 
which  differences  will  be  adjusted  on  a  just  and  equitable  basis. 

147.     Co-operation. 

Co-operation  has  been  resorted  to  in  two  forms,  —  the  pro- 
duction of  goods  and  their  distribution.  For  natural  and 
inevitable  reasons,  co-operative  production  has  not  been  a 
great  success.  The  ordinary  crude,  popular  conception  of 
co-operation  is  that  it  enables  the  producer  to  get  rid  of  the 
employer  and  the  wage  system.  The  workers  are  supposed 
to  employ  a  manager  subject  to  their  will,  and,  if  necessary, 
to  hire  capital  at  usual  rates  of  interest.  Then,  pooling  their 
services,  they  are  to  divide  among  themselves  whatever  profit 
there  may  be  after  fixed  charges  are  paid. 

This  scheme  is  purely  visionary  and  utterly  impracticable. 
First,  under  it,  the  worker  must  wait  till  the  last  for  the  profits 
which  may  come  to  him  in  the  place  of  wages,  and  if  no  profit 
comes  his  labour  has  gone  for  naught ;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
management,  as  a  rule,  receives'  its  share  in  salary  at  the  outset. 
In  the  second  place,  a  score  of  men,  operating  on  the  simple 
basis  of  each  doing  a  full  day's  work  on  some  kind  of  produc- 
tion, cannot  make  such  co-operation  a  success,  because  some 
out  of  the  score  will  find  themselves  doing  more  than  others, 
while  those  who  produce  less  receive  the  same  amount  of 
profits.  Human  nature,  individual  development,  skill,  ambi- 
tion, are  opposed  to  such  co-operation.  The  advantage  the 
present  system  has  over  simple  co-operative  production  is  that 
wages  are  paid  from  the  outset,  and  management  waits  for  its 
compensation  till  the  goods  are  sold  and  the  books  balanced. 
These  fundamental  difficulties  prevent  simple  co-operation 
from  being  considered  seriously  as  a  remedy  for  industrial 
depressions  or  for  labour  troubles.  Workers  must  be  guaran- 


278  Employer  and  Employee.  [§147 

teed  something,  to  be  paid  at  frequent  intervals,  and  the  only 
party  that  can  so  guarantee  is  the  capitalist  employer,  who 
alone  can  run  risks  and  wait  indefinitely  for  rewards.  The 
capitalist  employer  may  be  an  association  of  the  workers  them- 
selves ;  but  it  is  none  the  less  an  employer,  a  moral  personality, 
possessing  all  the  powers  over  individual  workers  that  an  indi- 
vidual employer  would  have.  The  more  efficient  and  pros- 
perous members  become  inevitably  the  controlling  power  in 
the  association,  and  they  will  not  consent  to  divide  profits 
irrespective  of  the  value  of  services,  or  to  guarantee  employ- 
ment to  inefficient  members.  The  valid  idea  in  this  crude 
conception  of  co-operation  is  that  in  the  degree  that  workmen 
develop  the  necessary  qualifications  and  acquire  the  requisite 
capital  they  may  become  self-employers,  and  that,  whether  as 
self-employers  or  otherwise,  they  should  as  workers  participate 
in  the  profits  of  industry  in  proportion  to  their  efficiency. 
This  ideal  is  in  process  of  realisation  through  various  forms 
of  co-operative  organisation  and  profit-sharing.  Industrial 
partnership  instituted  by  capitalist  employers,  and  co-opera- 
tion instituted  by  capital-owning  workmen,  work  toward  the 
same  result  from  different  directions.  Each  has  its  own 
proper  field,  and  each  will  probably  acquire  increasing 
prominence  in  social  economy. 

Co-operative  distribution  is  quite  another  matter.  It  is  not 
co-operation  purely ;  it  is  the  distribution  of  goods  by  an 
organisation  whose  members  participate  in  the  profits.  It  is 
often  suggested  as  at  least  a  partial  remedy  for  some  of  the 
bad  conditions  which  accompany  employment ;  but  it  is  only  a 
half-measure,  because  the  method  is  organised,  economised, 
and  made  effective  for  consumers  almost  entirely,  and  pro- 
ducers as  such  are  not  materially  benefited.  Such  has  been 
the  case  in  England,  where  the  Rochdale  system  has  been 
carried  to  such  magnificent  proportions ;  the  societies,  as 
purchasers,  keenly  appreciate  and  follow  the  rule  adopted  by 
the  private  trader,  of  buying  at  the  lowest  possible  competition 
prices,  and  in  their  transactions  with  producers  make  use 


§  147]  Co-operation.  279 

of  the  same  expedients  as  those  employed  in  private  trade  to 
drive  good  bargains  and  thus  swell  profits  for  the  benefit  of 
their  customers.  The  maxim  that  "  goods  well  bought  are 
half  sold  "  is  kept  constantly  in  view,  and  the  importance  of 
keen  and  shrewd  buying  is  so  well  understood  that  employees 
possessing  the  requisite  ability  in  this  direction  are  highly 
prized  and  liberally  paid.  To  the  producer,  therefore,  the 
system  of  co-operative  distribution  offers  no  special  advantages ; 
on  the  other  hand,  it  tends  to  lower  prices,  and  in  so  far  as 
this  is  the  result  depression  is  aided,  so  that  the  work  or 
progress  resulting  from  co-operative  distribution  may  react 
against  consumers  so  far  as  they  are  producers ;  and  the 
attempt  to  remove  the  middleman  from  the  channels  of  trade 
fails.  The  English  co-operative  stores  pay  competition  prices 
and  control  the  manufacture  of  goods  at  the  lowest  possible 
labour  cost,  but  the  workmen,  unless  members  of  a  co-opera- 
tive store,  can  have  no  share  in  the  profits.  Illingworth,  in 
" Distribution  Reform,"  says:  — 

"  The  co-operative  wholesale  society  is  a  gigantic  middleman ; 
in  its  workshops  it  pays  the  lowest  competition  wages  ;  in  the 
language  of  one  of  the  workers  in  one  of  the  shoe  factories,  '  the 
workmen  have  to  work  for  what  they  can  get;  they  know  there 
is  no  true  co-operation.'  In  its  transactions  with  other  producers 
it  pays  the  lowest  of  competition  prices  ;  the  profits  made  out  of 
the  retail  prices  are  distributed  amongst  the  members;  labour  is 
depressed.  In  short,  it  is  as  far  from  displaying  a  single  feature 
of  real  co-operation  as  any  private  trader  is  who  uses  the  weapons 
of  competition  and  capitalism  for  his  personal  ends,  regardless  of 
the  interests  of  others. 

"  The  co-operative  labour  association,  whose  principal  object  is  to 
recognise  the  combined  interests  of  capital  and  labour  in  produc- 
tive enterprise,  is  largely  composed  of  members  of  the  co-operative 
movement.  In  a  conference  just  held,  a  resolution  was  passed 
asking  'the  committee  of  the  labour  association  to  point  out  in  a 
fraternal  spirit  to  the  wholesale  co-operative  society  the  grave 
injury  they  are  doing  to  the  cause  of  co-operation  by  their 
failure  to  carry  out  co-operative  principles  in  their  productive 
works,  and  to  offer  their  services  in  placing  the  wholesale  work- 
shops upon  a  true  co-operative  basis.' " 


280  Employer  and  Employee.  [§147 

So  far,  then,  as  relates  to  removing  the  evils  which  it  is 
alleged  spring  from  competition  in  the  distribution  of  supplies, 
co-operative  societies  in  England  have  not  yet  succeeded  ;  nor 
have  they  failed.  The  system  as  yet  has  gone  but  a  little  way ; 
all  that  is  proved  is  that  co-operative  distribution  without  the 
alliance  of  co-operative  production  in  some  form  is  only  a  half- 
measure  as  a  remedy  for  defective  distribution. 

In  this  country  many  organisations  devoted  to  co-operative 
distribution  have  not  yet  made  much  impression.  The  diffi- 
culty generally  lies  in  the  management.  If  good,  practical 
business  men  can  be  secured  to  manage  a  co-operative 
store,  success  is  bound  to  attend  the  undertaking,  but  there 
must  be  something  besides ;  there  must  be  loyalty  to  the 
cause  and  something  of  self-sacrifice,  for  co-operators  do 
not  pay  large  salaries,  and  a  good  manager  of  a  co-oper- 
ative store  with  success  is  generally  sought  for  by  other 
business  houses.  The  failure  of  many  experiments  in  this 
country  has  been  caused  by  the  want  of  good  business  man- 
agers on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  by  the  feeling  of 
consumers  that  they  do  not  care  to  take  the  burdens  and  risks 
of  being  their  own  grocerymen.  They  prefer  to  pay  a  little 
more,  and  avoid  all  the  annoyance  which  comes  to  the  dealer. 
In  some  of  our  cities  there  are  club  organisations  that  work 
successfully,  but  their  make-up  is  a  combination  of  the  ordi- 
nary store  with  co-operative  features  attached. 

The  most  successful  field  has  been  found  in  large  univer- 
sities, where  there  is  a  special  constituency,  and  a  great 
demand  for  certain  simple  staples,  such  as  books,  stationer^, 
fuel,  and  sporting  goods. 

When  consumers  can  combine  and  faithfully  live  up  to  the 
principles  of  co-operation,  they  are  under  a  very  powerful 
educational  influence,  which  stimulates  their  moral  characters 
and  urges  them  to  good  business  methods.  It  would  be 
better  for  every  community  if  it  could  adopt  in  its  business 
relations  the  principles  of  co-operation,  whether  in  production 
or  in  distribution.  As  a  partial  remedial  agent  in  the  attempts 


§148]  Profit-sharing.  281 

to  solve  labour  problems,  co-operative  distribution,  when  suc- 
cessful, has  always  proved  to  be  influential.  But  it  is  an 
incomplete  relationship ;  to  be  complete  it  must  include  not 
only  co-operative  production  but  profit-sharing. 

148.    Profit-sharing. 

Many  benevolent  employers  have  endeavoured  to  secure 
pleasant  and  harmonious  relations  with  employees  through  a 
system  which  goes  under  various  names,  —  gain-sharing,  divis- 
ion of  earnings,  etc.,  —  but  is  usually  known  as  profit-sharing. 
The  principle  is  that  of  giving  the  employees  a  money  interest 
in  increasing  the  profits  of  the  business.  It  comprehends  the 
essential  benefit  of  co-operation  applied  to  the  production  of 
goods,  and  avoids  the  difficulties  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
prevent  simple,  pure  co-operation  from  succeeding  when 
applied  to  manufacturing. 

One  form  is  what  is  known  as  industrial  co-partnership, 
which  offers  a  practical  way  of  producing  goods  on  a  basis 
just  to  capital  and  labour,  and  brings  out  the  best  moral 
elements  of  the  capitalist  and  the  workman.  This  system  has 
been  tried  many  times,  and  usually  with  success.  Among 
the  numerous  experiments  in  Europe  is  the  system  adopted 
by  Leclaire,  a  Parisian  house-painter,  who  was  the  first  to 
give  it  practical  illustration.  In  the  United  States  but  little 
has  been  done  in  this  direction,  but  wherever  the  principle 
has  been  tried  there  have  been  three  grand  results  :  labour 
has  received  a  more  liberal  share  for  its  skill,  capital  has  been 
better  remunerated,  and  the  moral  tone  of  the  whole  com- 
munity involved  has  been  raised.  Employment  has  been 
steadier  and  more  sure,  for  the  interest  of  all  has  been 
given  for  the  general  welfare.  Each  man  feels  himself  more  a 
man.  The  employer  looks  upon  his  employees  in  the  true 
light,  as  associates.  Conflict  ceases,  and  harmony  takes  the 
place  of  disturbance. 

Though  sometimes 'the  experiments  in  profit-sharing  have 
been  abandoned,  so  long  as  they  have  existed  no  strikes  have 


282  Employer  and  Employee.  [§148 

occurred  and  no  labour  troubles  have  been  experienced. 
This  feature,  as  a  suggested  remedy  for  industrial  depressions 
and  for  industrial  warfare,  has  much  in  it  of  hope  for  the 
future,  and  yet  it  cannot  be  considered  as  a  complete  solution 
of  all  the  difficulties  which  labour  encounters.  It  has  in  it, 
however,  the  power  of  reducing  the  conflicts,  softening  the 
struggles,  and  making  men  better. 

The  ordinary  foundation  of  the  system  is  as  follows  :  the 
proprietor  receives  for  the  capital  he  invests  the  ruling  rate  of 
interest,  as  part  of  the  legitimate  expense  of  production ;  he 
also  puts  in  as  his  share,  other  than  capital,  his  managerial 
skill,  his  business  accomplishments,  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
industry  in  which  he  is  engaged.  The  men  who  work  for  him 
receive  for  their  time  and  for  the  ordinary  display  of  the  skill 
required  the  ordinary  rate  of  wage  ;  the  workman  also  con- 
tributes his  liveliest  interest,  his  best  skill,  and  the  care  of  tools 
and  materials.  It  is  conceded  that  the  skilled  management 
of  the  proprietor  and  his  liability  for  the  risks  of  the  estab- 
lishment entitle  him  to  the  larger  share  of  profits,  while  the 
workmen,  whose  only  risk  is  loss  of  employment,  are  entitled 
to  the  smaller  share  ;  but  the  two  parties  amicably  arrange 
for  a  division  of  profits  on  some  just  and  equitable  basis. 

This  compound  system,  simple  in  itself,  humane  in  all  its 
bearings,  just  in  every  respect  to  all  the  parties  concerned, 
combines  what  is  good  in  the  wages  system  with  what  is  good 
in  co-operation  as  applied  to  production,  and  is  be  :oming  a 
necessity.  Under  it  the  workman  receives  a  greater  share  than 
has  hitherto  been  accorded  to  him,  on  account  of  the  improve- 
ments in  machinery  ;  he  becomes  a  part  of  the  individuality  of 
the  establishment ;  he  is  lifted  to  a  higher  scale  ;  his  intelli- 
gence, his  moral  character,  have  weight  in  the  establishment  in 
proportion  to  his  interest  in  it,  and  the  whole  concern  has  a 
better  chance  for  prosperity,  for  weathering  industrial  storms, 
and  for  general  happiness,  than  under  the  present  wage  system 
alone.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  proprietors  of  many 
influential  manufacturing  establishments  in  this  country  are 


§148]  Profit-sharing.  283 

contemplating  the  organisation  of  their  establishments  upon  this 
basis,  because  they  see  the  success  of  the  enterprises  where  this 
system  already  has  been  adopted,  and  are  glad  to  follow  in  so 
just  a  path. 

An  indirect  method  of  sharing  profits  is  through  benefits  of 
various  kinds,  as  insurance,  schools,  libraries,  and  beautiful 
surroundings,  where  such  are  maintained  by  employers  out  of 
their  profits  and  enjoyed  by  employees  as  an  addition  to  what 
their  wages  would  purchase.  A  striking  example  is  the  beauty 
of  the  manufacturing  town  of  South  Manchester,  Connecticut, 
a  beauty  due  to  the  joint  efforts  of  the  great  firm  of  Cheney 
Brothers  and  the  operatives  in  their  silk  factory.  Such  parti- 
cipation helps  to  preserve  the  stability  of  labour,  and  has  been 
offered  to  workmen  by  many  proprietors  and  in  different  coun- 
tries. The  erection  of  healthful  residences,  which  are  rented 
to  operatives  at  a  low  per  cent  on  cost,  has  been  resorted  to  in 
many  places.  This  is  true  of  great  productive  establishments 
like  the  works  of  Herr  Krupp,  at  Essen,  in  Rhenish  Prussia ; 
of  several  establishments  at  Mulhausen ;  of  Saltaire,  founded 
by  Sir  Titus  Salt,  in  Yorkshire,  England  ;  of  the  efforts  of  Fair- 
banks Brothers,  at  Saint  Johnsbury,  Vermont;  of  the  Ludlow 
Company,  in  Massachusetts,  and  of  the  linen  works  at  Willi- 
mantic,  Connecticut.  All  such  undertakings  improve  the 
surroundings  of  the  workman,  and  he  secures  indirectly  a  par- 
ticipation in  the  profits  of  production  outside  and  beyond  his 
wages  ;  yet  these  are  not  experiments  at  profit-sharing,  as  such, 
but  they  lead  to  profit-sharing,  and  surely  indicate  the  results 
which  may  accrue  when  the  principle  is  carried  to  a  greater 
extent. 

Many  peculiar  institutions  illustrative  of  this  idea  may  be 
found  in  Belgium,  especially  in  the  coal,  iron,  and  woollen  dis- 
tricts. Most  of  these  are  voluntary  in  their  origin,  except  the 
"  Caisse  de  Prevoyance  en  Faveur  des  Ouvriers  M incurs,"  which 
is  obligatory  upon  every  one  receiving  a  mining  concession. 
The  object  of  this  and  of  the  numerous  "  Caisses  particulieres 
de  Se'cours  "  is  to  set  aside  a  sum  equal  to  a  certain  per  cent 


284  Employer  and  Employee.  [§148 

(generally  three  per  cent)  of  each  member's  wage  for  provision 
against  accidents,  sickness,  death,  and  for  pensions  for  disabled 
and  aged  workmen.  Another  favourite  application  of  business 
profits  to  the  advantage  of  the  workman  is  in  the  furthering  of 
municipal  improvements,  where  corporations  are  the  principal 
tax-payers,  and  through  the  foundation  of  benefit  funds,  chiefly 
supported,  in  many  cases  entirely  supported,  by  individual 
manufacturing  establishments  for  the  benefit  of  their  own 
labourers.  The  beneficiary  institutions  of  the  establishments 
"  Socie'te'  Anonyme  de  Marceneille  et  de  Couillet  "  and  "  Soci- 
e'te' Anonyme  des  Charbonnages  de  1'Ouest  de  Mons  "  will  well 
repay  the  study  and  challenge  the  commendation  of  the  social 
philosopher.  Similar  efforts  are  made  by  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  Company  and  other  great  corporations  in  the 
United  States,  varying  only  in  their  character. 

Such  institutions  cannot  be  too  highly  praised,  and  their 
effect  is  almost  instantly  noticeable  in  the  morale  and  spirit  of 
the  workman  toward  his  employers.  They  have  an  excellent 
influence  by  adding  to  the  hopefulness  and  cheerfulness  of 
labour.  The  labourer  who  participates  in  these  benefits  feels 
that  notwithstanding  the  wide  social  gulf  which  separates  him 
from  his  employer,  his  employer  at  least  cares  something  for 
him.  The  voluntary  character  of  such  institutions  makes  them 
all  the  more  effective.  They  are  certainly  stimulative  of  an 
active  appreciation  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  more 
direct  system  of  profit-sharing.  It  must  be  concluded  that 
participation  by  workmen  in  profits  in  addition  to  wages  is 
a  true  harmoniser  of  the  interests  of  capital  and  labour.  It 
does,  in  fact,  identify  the  interest  of  the  employee  with  the 
interest  of  the  employer.  It  converts  the  industrial  asso- 
ciation of  employer  and  employee  into  a  moral  organism  in 
which  all  the  various  talents,  services,  and  desires  of  the  com- 
ponent individuals  are  fused  into  a  community  of  purpose  and 
endeavour. 


§149]  State  Regulation.  285 

149.    State  Regulation. 

Whenever  governments  undertake  to  regulate  the  relations 
of  employer  and  employee,  partial  or  complete  failure  usually 
attends  the  efforts.  The  experience  of  England  after  the  black 
death,  and  the  experience  in  the  early  history  of  our  own  colo- 
nies, are  very  marked  examples  of  the  results  when  the  State 
interferes  with  the  personal  and  economic  relations  of  the  em- 
ployer and  the  employee.  These  experiences  have  prevented 
such  attempts  in  later  times.  At  present  the  State  does  not 
indulge  in  legislative  regulation  except  in  those  cases  which 
have  been  treated  above  (Chapter  XIV.),  such  as  the  liability 
of  employers,  compulsory  insurance,  the  inspection  of  factories, 
the  protection  of  employees  from  exposed  machinery,  etc. 

Under  statutory  law  the  employee's  rights  are  the  rights  of 
every  other  citizen.  His  contract  is  as  sacred  as  that  of  any 
other  person  ;  his  wages  are  independent  of  legal  regulation  ; 
his  home  is  sacred  ;  and  in  every  way  law  and  the  courts  are  at 
his  disposal.  There  is  no  legal  discrimination  against  him, 
while  on  the  other  hand  there  is  some  discrimination  in  his 
favour ;  for  instance,  in  bankruptcy  most  States  provide  that 
wages  due  at  the  time  of  insolvency  shall  be  paid  in  full  up  to 
a  certain  amount  before  other  claims  are  adjusted.  Some  States 
have  also  undertaken  to  regulate  the  intervals  at  which  he  shall 
be  paid,  providing  for  weekly  or  bi-weekly  payments,  on  the 
ground  that  a  man  with  money  in  his  pocket  can  buy  his  sup- 
plies more  advantageously  than  upon  credit.  Such  laws,  how- 
ever, work  both  ways,  for  the  improvident  workingman  with 
money  in  his  pocket  is  at  an  equal  disadvantage.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion whether  such  regulations  really  help  the  employee  or  injure 
him.  Of  course,  the  better  view  is  that  the  development  of 
individual  manhood  is  the  best  security  against  improvidence 
and  the  misapplication  of  earnings. 

The  employee's  rights  under  the  common  law  are  as  secure 
as  those  of  any  other  citizen.  His  relations  with  the  employer 
under  the  common  law  are  defined  by  the  courts  as  the  rights 


286  Employer  and  Employee.  [§149 

of  master  and  servant.  Where  an  employee  for  a  fixed  period, 
at  a  salary  for  the  period,  payable  at  intervals,  is  wrongfully 
discharged,  he  may  pursue  one  of  four  courses  :  — 

1.  He  may  sue  at  once  for  the  breach  of  contract,  in  which 
case  he  can  recover  his  damages  only  up  to  the  time  of  bring- 
ing the  suit. 

2.  He  may  wait  until  the  end  of  the  contract  period,  and 
then  sue  for  the  breach,  in  which  case  he  may  recover  for  the 
whole  contract  period. 

3.  He  may  treat  the  contract  as  existing,  and  sue  at  each 
period  of  payment  for  the  wages  then  due. 

4.  He  may  treat  the  contract  as  rescinded,  and  sue  imme- 
diately for  the  value  of  his  services  performed,  in  which  case 
he  can  only  recover  for  the  time  he  actually  served. 

An  employee  is  entitled  to  recover  damages  from  a  person 
who  maliciously  procures  his  discharge,  provided  he  proves 
that  the  discharge  resulted  in  damage  to  him.  An  employer  is 
entitled  to  maintain  an  action  against  any  one  who  knowingly 
entices  away  his  servant,  or  wrongfully  prevents  the  servant 
from  performing  his  duty,  or  permits  the  servant  to  stay  with 
him,  and  harbours  such  servant  with  the  intention  of  depriving 
the  master  of  his  services. 

Some  very  curious  cases  arose  after  the  end  of  the  war 
through  the  retention  of  negroes  in  slavery  after  they  were 
legally  free.  As  late  as  1890  a  negro  woman  sued  the  estate 
of  her  master  for  twenty-five  years'  wages,  and  won  her  case. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

QUESTIONS   RELATING   TO    STRIKES   AND   LOCKOUTS. 
150.  References. 

U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Sixteenth  Annual  Report,  1901 ;  U.  S. 
Department  of  Labour,  Report  of  Chicago  Strike  Commission  ;  Pennsyl- 
vania Bureau  of  Industrial  Statistics,  Report  (1892);  Richard  T.  Ely, 
Labor  Movement  in  America,  chs.  iv.,  v. ;  Lyman  Abbott,  Compulsory 
Arbitration,  in  Arena,  VII.  30  (Dec.,  1892) ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Compul- 
sory Arbitration  an  Impossible  Remedy,  in  Forum,  XV.  323  (May,  1893); 
Strikes  in  the  United  States,  in  North  American  Review  (July,  1902),  and 
Account  of  Steel  Strike  of  igoi,  in  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics  (Nov., 
1901) ;  Timothy  A.  Carroll,  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  in  the  Boot  and 
Shoe  Industry,  and  John  B.  McPherson,  Voluntary  Conciliation  and  Arbi- 
tration in  Great  Britain,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletins  Nos.  8 
and  28  ;  reports  of  State  boards  of  arbitration  for  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
and  Massachusetts  ;  J.  S.  Salaman,  A  Manual  for  Arbitration  ;  Joseph  D. 
Weeks,  Labor  Difficulties  and  their  Settlement ;  F.  J.  Stimson,  Labor  in  its 
Relations  to  Law,  and  The  Modern  Use  of  Injunction,  in  Political  Science 
Quarterly,  X.  189  (June,  1895) ;  W.  H.  Dunbar,  Government  by  Injunc- 
tion, in  American  Economic  Association,  Economic  Studies,  III.  No.  I  ; 
F.  J.  Stimson,  The  National  Arbitration  Law,  in  International  Journal 
of  Ethics,  VIII.  409  (July,  1898);  Henry  W.  Farnam,  Labor  Crisis  and 
their  Periods  in  the  United  States,  in  Yale  Review,  VII.  180  (August, 
1898) ;  State  Arbitration  and  the  Living  Wage  (Fabian  Tract,  No.  83) ;  J. 
H.  lienton,  Jr.,  What  is  "  Government  by  Injunction"  ?  Does  it  Exist  in 
the  United  States?  (annual  address  before  the  Grafton  and  Coos  (N.  H.) 
.Bar  Association) ;  report  of  U.  S.  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  19. 

151.    Nature  of  Strikes  and  Lockouts. 

Differences  of  opinion  as  to  what  constitutes  the  true  rela- 
tion of  employer  and  employee  lead  to  labour  controversies, 
which,  if  not  adjusted  by  the  sane  and  reasonable  methods  of 
conciliation,  result  in  open  industrial  war,  which  may  take  the 
form  of  a  strike  by  employees  or  a  lockout  by  employers,  with 

287 


288  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§151 

a  boycott  as  an  auxiliary  method  of  enforcing  opinions  and  de- 
mands on  either  side.  When  a  body  of  employees  have  a  griev- 
ance of  any  kind  and  make  a  demand  upon  the  employer  to 
have  the  grievance  removed,  and  the  demand  is  not  complied 
with,  or  there  is  no  adjustment  through  an  exchange  of  views 
and  a  disclosure  of  conditions,  employees  are  apt  to  notify  the 
employer  that  they  will  not  work  until  their  grievance  is 
adjusted.  The  refusal  to  work  then  constitutes  a  strike.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  employers  take  any  action  which  the 
employees  resent,  such  as  the  announcement  of  some  new 
rule,  or  the  reduction  of  wages,  or  when  the  men  make  what 
the  employers  consider  an  unreasonable  demand,  such  as  that 
non-union  men  shall  be  discharged,  and  the  matters  cannot  be 
adjusted  in  a  friendly  way,  employers  sometimes  close  their 
works  until  such  time  as  the  employees  comply  with  the  wishes 
of  the  employer.  This  is  a  lockout.  Strikes  and  lockouts  are, 
therefore,  practically  the  same  thing,  the  difference  being  deter- 
mined by  the  side  from  which  the  organised  resistance  comes. 

Strikes  and  lockouts  are  not  new  phases  of  labour  condi- 
tions ;  and,  although  such  occurrences  were  rare,  there  are 
evidences  of  their  existence  all  along  through  the  ages.  In 
the  olden  time  a  strike  was  a  revolt,  and  was  put  down  as  such. 
The  fearful  peasant  wars  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies were  in  origin  strikes  of  agricultural  labourers.  It  is  in 
modern  times  that  the  strike  and  the  lockout  have  been  of 
frequent  occurrence,  and  so  frequent  as  to  lead  many  to  con- 
sider them  necessary  accompaniments  of  modern  industrial 
conditions.  No  country  that  has  adopted  the  modern  system 
has  been  free  from  them,  and  they  occur  under  all  conditions, 
both  of  depression  and  of  prosperity. 

In  this  country  strikes  have  been  known  since  1741,  although 
there  was  no  systematic  record  of  them  until  1880,  when  the 
Tenth  Census  showed  for  that  year  610  strikes  and  152  lock- 
outs. So  far  as  can  be  learned  from  a  very  incomplete  state- 
ment based  on  trade  journals,  local  histories,  newspapers,  and 
other  sources,  the  number  of  recorded  strikes  occurring  prior 


Nature. 


289 


to  1880  was  729.     The  Federal  statistics  for  the  period  from 
and  including  1881  to  December  31,  1900,  are  quite  full.1 

The  industries  most  affected  by  strikes  during  the  twenty 
years  were  the  building  trades,  with  4,440  strikes,  involving 
41,910  establishments  and  665,946  employees;  coal  and 
coke,  with  2,515  strikes,  involving  14,575  establishments  and 
1,892,435  employees  ;  metals  and  metallic  goods,  with  2,080 
strikes,  involving  4,652  establishments  and  511,336  employees  ; 
clothing,  with  1,638  strikes,  involving  19,695  establishments 
and  563,772  employees;  tobacco,  with  1,509  strikes,  involv- 
ing 6,153  establishments  and  251,096  employees;  and  trans- 
portation, with  1,265  strikes,  involving  3,436  establishments 
and  484,454  employees.  It  is  thus  seen  that  of  the  22,793 
strikes  which  occurred  during  the  period  59  per  cent  were  in 
the  six  industries  just  mentioned,  while  of  the  117,509  estab- 
lishments involved,  76.95  per  cent  were  so  engaged.  As  re- 
gards the  employees  thrown  out  of  employment  by  strikes. 
71.60  per  cent  of  the  total  number  were  connected  with 
establishments  engaged  in  these  six  industries. 

1  STRIKES,  ESTABLISHMENTS  INVOLVED,  AND  EMPLOYEES  THROWN  OUT 
OF  EMPLOYMENT,  JANUARY  i,  1881,  TO  DECEMBER  31,  1900. 


Year. 

Strikes 

Establishments 
involved. 

Average  estab- 
lishments to 
a  Strike. 

Employees  thrown 
out  of  Employ- 
ment. 

t88i  

2,928 

6.2 

1882  

2,105 

4.6 

1883   .... 

478 

5  8 

1884                 . 

:88s  

645 

2,284 

•5.5 

,886  

1887  .... 

436 

6,589 

4.6 

1888 

1889  

3,786 

3.5 

,890  

,833" 

5.1 

1891 

8,116 

1892    

,298 

1893  

4)555 

3.5 

iSoj. 

8,196 

6.1 

1801;  . 

j8g6  

1897   

,078 

8,492 

1898   

3,809 

3  6 

6.3 

you 

5   5i 

Total  .     .     . 

22,793 

117,509 

5-2 

a  6,105,694 

a  Not   including  the   number   in   33   establishments  for  which   these   data  were   not 
obtainable. 


290  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§  151 

There  were  9,933  establishments  in  which  lockouts  occurred 
during  the  period,  and  7,828  establishments,  or  78.82  percent  of 
all,  were  included  in  six  industries,  as  follows  :  building  trades, 
5,001  ;  coal  and  coke,  56;  metals  and  metallic  goods,  272  ; 
clothing,  2,034;  tobacco,  339;  and  transportation,  127. 

Of  the  total  number  of  employees  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment by  strikes  (6,105,694),  the  males  constituted  90  per 
cent,  and  the  females  10  per  cent.  By  the  lockouts  504,307 
employees  were  thrown  out  of  employment,  80.24  per  cent 
being  males,  and  19.76  per  cent  females.  Of  the  117,509  es- 
tablishments involved  in  the  strikes  during  the  period  named, 
87,878,  or  74.78  per  cent  were  located  in  the  States  of  Illinois, 
Massachusetts,  New  York,  Ohio,  and  Pennsylvania,  while  of 
the  9,933  establishments  in  which  lockouts  occurred,  8,424,  or 
84.81  per  cent  were  in  these  States. 

The  average  duration  of  the  strikes  during  the  period  was 
23.8  days,  and  of  the  lockouts,  97.1  days.  Fifty  and  seventy- 
seven  one-hundredths  per  cent  of  the  strikes  and  50.79  per 
cent  of  the  lockouts  succeeded,  while  36.19  per  cent  of  the 
strikes  and  42.93  of  the  lockouts  failed  :  in  other  cases  there 
was  partial  success.  Organisations  ordered  14,457,  or  63.42 
per  cent,  of  all  strikes  ;  they  were  successful  in  52.86  per  cent 
and  unsuccessful  in  33.54  per  cent  of  the  strikes  they  ordered. 

152.     Causes  of  Strikes  and  Lockouts. 

The  causes  for  which  strikes  were  undertaken  related  com- 
monly to  wages  or  to  the  reduction  of  hours ;  these  causes, 
which  represent  the  usual  grievances  from  1881  to  1900,  may  be 
classified  as  in  the  table,  in  note,  on  the  next  page,  and  they  ac- 
count for  more  than  three-fourths  of  all  the  strikes  in  the  period. 

In  labour  contests,  as  in  all  others  between  intelligent  beings, 
each  party  claims  that  it  is  standing  up  for  a  vital  principle  and 
insists  that  on  that  account  it  will  not  yield.  As  there  cannot 
be  two  vital  principles  of  an  antagonistic  nature,  and  as  one 
or  the  other  of  the  contestants  must  be  mistaken,  it  would 
seem  a  wise  course  to  submit  all  matters  to  some  cool  third 
party  for  reasonable  adjustment.  The  labour  question,  con- 


§    '5*] 


Causes. 


291 


cretely  stated,  means  the  struggle  for  a  higher  standard  of 
living.  So  it  is  a  matter  of  principle  with  labour  leaders  that 
nothing  shall  be  countenanced  which  in  their  judgment  will  in 
any  way  lead  to  a  lower  standard  of  living,  or  which  will  infringe 
upon  the  life-line  of  wages,  and  a  strike  is  from  their  side  a 
vigorous  protest  against  any  condition  existing  or  which  may 
exist  in  interference  with  the  higher  standard,  —  an  assertion 
that  inconvenience,  suffering,  deprivation,  hunger,  will  be  en- 
dured rather  than  yield  the  principle  at  stake.  Whether  the 
leaders  of  the  strike  be  men  of  undoubted  wisdom,  or  agitators, 
or  unprincipled  demagogues,  the  ethics  of  the  case  is  unaltered, 
although  the  personal  equation  may  aggravate  the  matter  in 
the  public  estimation.  On  the  other  hand,  the  employer, 
whether  honest  or  dishonest,  arbitrary  or  generous,  is  prone  to 

LEADING  CAUSES  OF  STRIKES,  JAN.  i,  1881,  TO  DEC.  31,  1900. 


Cause  or  object. 

Establish- 
ments. 

Per  cent. 

For  increase  of  wages                  

77,771 

28.70 

For  increase  of  wages  and  reduction  of  hours 
For  reduction  of  hours      .               

13,201 
13,116 

11.23 

ii.  16 

Against  reduction  of  wages        

8,427 

7.17 

In  sympathy  with  strike  elsewhere     .... 
Against  employment  of  non-union  men   .     .     . 
For  adoption  of  new  scale               

4,078 

2,75r 
2,742 

347 
2-34 

2.77 

1,640 

I.4O 

For  increase  of  wages  and  recognition  of  union 
For  enforcement  of  union  rules      

1,111 

1,  068 

•95 
.91 

For  adoption  of  union  scale       ...          . 

028 

.70 

For  reduction  of  hours  and  against  being  com- 
pelled to  board  with  employer     ...          . 

Q27 

.70 

Against  task  system      

QI7 

.78 

For  reduction  of  hours  and  against  task  system 
For  adoption  of  union  rules  and  union  scale    . 
For  reinstatement  of  discharged  employees    . 
For  increase  of  wages,  Saturday  half  holiday, 
and  privilege  of  working  for  employers  not 
members  of  masters'  association     .... 
Against  reduction  of  wages  and  working  over- 
time      

868 
800 

7  S.O 

•77 
•75 
•74 

.68 
.64 

For  increase  of  wages  and  against  use  of  ma- 
terial from  non-union  establishment    .     .     . 
For  increase  of  wages  and  Saturday  half  holiday 

750 
729 

.64 
.62 

Total  of  20  leading  causes  

QO  72O 

7686 

All  other  causes  (i  382)     

27.l8Q 

27.14 

Total  for  the  United  States     

117   COQ 

TOO  OO 

292  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§J52 

feel  that  he  has  a  right  to  manage  his  own  business  in  his  own 
way,  and  that  he  knows  better  than  any  one  else  what  wages 
he  can  pay.  When  he  says  he  will  not  yield  to  the  demands 
of  the  striking  party  he  feels  that  a  principle  vital  to  the  integ- 
rity of  his  business  is  at  stake  ;  and  he  feels  secure  in  this 
position  and  has  the  sympathy  of  all  men  who  have  been  or 
who  may  be  situated  in  like  manner.  Nevertheless,  as  in 
ordinary  lawsuits,  that  which  was  a  vital  principle  to  one  of  the 
parties  must  either  be  vacated  through  defeat  or  else  each 
must  yield  something  for  the  sake  of  the  public  welfare.  Or- 
dinarily the  fight  goes  on  without  much  regard  to  the  public, 
until  one  or  the  other  is  obliged  to  yield  by  exhaustion  or  loss 
of  business. 

Sometimes  the  strike  of  an  individual  establishment  leads  tc 
a  general  strike  in  which  all  or  many  of  the  establishments  in 
the  same  industry  are  involved.  Such  a  general  disturbance 
must  be  considered  as  one  strike ;  but  where  a  strike  leads  ta 
collateral  difficulties,  —  as,  for  instance,  involves  establishments 
engaged  in  producing  some  part  or  parts  of  the  material  used 
in  another  establishment  that  is  involved  in  a  strike,  —  then 
many  complications  occur,  and  the  disturbance  in  the  various 
industries  involved  must  be  considered  as  separate  strikes. 
This  class  of  difficulties  is  quite  rare.  Workingmen  them- 
selves, as  represented  by  their  organisations,  dislike  to  enter 
into  a  controversy  that  does  not  concern  them  directly.  They 
do,  however,  at  times  order  so-called  "sympathetic  strikes," 
—  strikes  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their  sympathy  with 
strikers  already  out.  Lockouts  sometimes  arise  in  the  same 
way,  from  a  sympathy  of  one  employer  with  the  struggle  of 
another ;  but  the  public  looks  very  unfavourably  on  a  lockout 
of  men  willing  to  work  on  the  usual  basis. 

What  maybe  called  "provoked  strikes"  are  not  unknown. 
Sometimes  employers  find  it  more  convenient  in  slack  times 
to  let  the  men  strike  than  to  run  short  time;  sometimes  they 
meet  a  probable  but  distant  strike  by  a  lockout.  Sometimes 
there  are  collusive  strikes,  in  which  an  employer  contrives  to 


§  153]  Cost.  293 

have  his  own  men  strike,  so  as  to  cause  a  strike  against  a  com- 
petitor who  has  more  favourable  conditions  of  wages.  Of  late 
years  there  have  been  many  suggestions  that  workmen  could 
compel  a  great  readjustment  of  wages  and  treatment  by  a 
"  general  strike,"  —  a  simultaneous  refusal  to  work  by  the 
great  mass  of  working  people. 

153.    Cost  of  Strikes  and  Lockouts. 

Perhaps  the  most  startling  statement  relative  to  strikes  and 
lockouts  relates  to  their  cost.  Looking  a-t  the  period  of  20 
years  from  1881  to  1900,  the  wage  loss  of  employees  in  the 
establishments  in  which  strikes  occurred  appears  to  be 
$257,863,478,  and  the  loss  through  lockouts,  $48,819,745, 
making  a  total  loss  to  employees  of  $306,683,223,  or  an  aver- 
age loss  of  $42  to  each  person  involved  in  the  difficulties.  In 
addition  to  direct  desistance  of  wages,  labour  organisations 
sacrificed  in  assistance  to  strikers,  for  the  strikes,  $16,174,793, 
and  for  the  lockouts,  $3,451,461,  or  a  total  sum  of  $19,626,254. 
The  loss  to  employers  through  strikes,  for  the  period  named, 
was  $122,731,121,  and  through  lockouts,  $19,927,983,  making 
a  total  loss  of  $142,659,104.  The  general  bill  of  expense, 
therefore,  for  twenty  years  amounted  to  $468,968,581. 

Some  of  the  strikes  which  have  occurred  during  the  past 
few  years  have  assumed  vast  proportions,  among  the  most  im- 
portant being  the  great  railroad  strikes  of  1877  on  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  railroads  at  Pittsburg.  Other 
historic  contests  are  the  telegraphers'  strike  of  1883,  the  rail- 
way strike  of  1885-86  on  the  Gould  system,  the  strike  at  the 
steel  works  at  Homestead  in  July,  1892,  and  the  strike  at 
Chicago,  in  1894,  perhaps  the  most  disastrous  and  far-reaching 
that  ever  occurred  in  this  country.  Since  1894  the  most  im- 
portant strikes  were  the  bituminous  coal  strike  of  1897,  the 
great  steel  strike  of  1901,  and  the  anthracite  coal  strikes  of 
1900  and  1902. 


294  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§  154 

154.  Number  of  Persons  involved  in  Strikes. 

To  ascertain  the  exact  number  of  persons  involved  or  the 
exact  losses  either  of  employers  or  employees  is  impossible ; 
the  round  figures  given  above  are  the  nearest  approximations 
that  can  be  obtained,  but  in  all  probability  are  much  below  the 
real  losses.  As  an  example  of  the  complications  and  loss 
of  a  great  strike,  take  that  in  Chicago  in  1894.  The  contest 
was  chiefly  between  two  organisations,  —  the  Pullman  Company, 
manufacturers  of  railway  cars,  on  the  one  hand,  and  their  em- 
ployees on  the  other ;  but  the  American  Railway  Union  entered 
the  contest  and  ordered  a  sympathetic  strike  on  the  different 
railroads  centring  in  Chicago.  This  was  followed  by  some 
other  sympathetic  strikes  and  an  attempt  to  secure  a  general 
strike  involving  all  industries.  A  careful  estimate  of  the  loss 
of  earnings  of  the  railroads  gave  a  total  of  $4,672,916,  besides 
a  sum  estimated  at  $685,308  for  property  destroyed,  the  ex- 
pense of  United  States  deputy  marshals,  and  other  incidental 
expenses.  There  were  3,100  employees  at  Pullman,  and  they 
lost  about  $350,000  in  wages.  Nearly  100,000  employees 
•upon  the  twenty-four  railroads  converging  at  Chicago,  all  of 
which  were  more  or  less  involved  in  the  strike,  lost  in  wages, 
as  estimated  by  the  different  managers,  about  $1,400,000. 
Beyond  these  amounts,  very  great  losses,  widely  distributed, 
were  incidentally  suffered  throughout  the  country,  by  reason 
of  lack  of  transportation  and  consequent  stoppage  of  industry  ; 
it  was  popularly  believed  that  this  general  loss  amounted  to 
nearly  $80,000,000. 

155.     Industrial  Conciliation. 

When  strikes  are  peacefully  conducted  and  are  local  in  their 
relations  the  public  takes  little  or  no  interest  in  them,  but  when 
the  conditions  are  intense  and  the  contest  is  accompanied  by 
acts  of  violence  and  a  disregard  of  public  convenience,  then 
attention  is  called  to  them,  and  the  public  is  more  or  less  in- 
terested. It  is  at  such  times  that  innumerable  propositions 


§155]  Numbers  —  Conciliation.  295 

are  put  forth  for  the  settlement  of  labour  troubles  and  the  gen- 
eral solution  of  what  is  known  as  the  labour  question. 

The  adjustment  of  differences  should  always  be  attempted 
under  what  is  called  industrial  conciliation  or  mediation,  but 
such  a  method  can  be  resorted  to  only  by  men  of  a  high 
order,  —  men  who  have  the  good  of  the  community  and  of 
their  own  establishments  at  heart,  who  recognise  the  power  of 
moral  relations  as  well  as  the  force  of  economic  conditions. 

Industrial  conciliation  means  that  when  differences  arise 
between  employers  and  employees,  the  two  shall  meet  on  a 
common  basis,  each  recognising  the  manliness  of  the  other 
and  the  desire  to  adjust  matters  with  perfect  equity.  If 
it  be  the  individual  employer,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
individual  employee  on  the  other,  there  is  little  difficulty 
in  the  two  coming  together  and  discussing  the  merits  of 
the  position  of  each ;  when  the  employer  is  a  corporation 
and  the  employees  are  organised,  then  each  must  meet  the 
other  through  representatives.  The  claim  on  the  part  of  great 
employers  that  they  can  deal  only  with  individual  employees 
is  as  absurd  as  it  would  be  for  the  labour  union  to  insist  upon 
meeting  the  individual  stockholders  or  the  individual  members 
of  a  firm.  Neither  party  has  a  right  to  make  such  a  claim. 
Representatives  must  deal  with  representatives ;  organisation 
must  recognise  organisation,  and  the  committees  of  the  two 
must  meet  in  friendly  spirit  for  the  purpose  of  fairly  and 
honestly  discussing  the  questions  under  consideration.  When 
this  takes  place  it  is  incumbent  on  the  representatives  of  the 
employers  to  state  frankly  and  fully  the  conditions  under  which 
they  are  attempting  to  produce  goods ;  they  know  the  con- 
ditions of  the  workingmen,  and  the  workingmen  can  know  the 
conditions  of  production  only  through  the  representatives  of 
organised  capital.  The  very  spirit  of  conciliation  means  frank- 
ness, a  desire  on  the  part  of  each  to  inform  the  other  fully  of 
the  merits  of  their  respective  claims.  Whenever  such  a  course 
is  pursued  the  results  are  usually  satisfactory. 

One  single  illustration  may  be  referred  to  as  embodying  the 


296 


Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§  155 


whole  principle  of  industrial  conciliation.  A  few  years  ago  a 
great  iron  company  had  been  running  for  a  year  or  two  with- 
out profit,  simply  with  a  view  of  preserving  its  plant  and  hold- 
ing its  skilled  work-people  together  until  better  times  should 
come,  and  had  been  compelled  to  reduce  wages  ten  per  cent. 
The  employees  made  a  demand  for  a  ten  per  cent  increase  in 
wages.  The  president  of  the  company,  instead  of  telling  the 
men  that  if  they  did  not  like  the  conditions  under  which  they 
were  employed  they  could  quit,  frankly  informed  them  that 
they  were  at  liberty  to  examine  the  books  of  the  concern,  and 
that  if  on  such  examination  they  believed  the  company  could 
restore  the  former  wages  the  restoration  should  take  place ; 
and  he  suggested  that  in  order  to  make  such  examination  an 
expert  accountant  be  employed,  —  a  man  not  known  to  either 
the  corporation  or  the  labour  union,  and  that  if  the  union 
could  not  pay  his  expenses  the  company  would.  This  propo- 
sition was  met  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  it  was  offered  :  an 
expert  accountant  was  employed  by  the  men,  the  books  of  the 
concern  turned  over  to  him,  and  he  reported  to  the  union  the 
result  of  his  examination.  On  receiving  this  report  the  com- 
mittee of  the  union  waited  upon  the  president  of  the  iron 
company,  and  not  only  informed  him  that  they  were  satisfied 
the  restoration  demanded  could  not  be  made,  but  recom- 
mended a  further  reduction  of  ten  per  cent.  The  company, 
of  course,  did  not  accept  the  recommendation,  but  continued 
to  pay  the  wages  it  had  been  paying  and  to  produce  iron  with- 
out profit  until  such  time  as  their  orders  warranted  an  increase, 
when  of  their  own  motion  the  company  restored  the  old  wages 
of  its  people.  It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that  this  company 
has  never  had  a  strike,  and  it  probably  never  will,  for  its 
method  of  meeting  its  people  on  moral  and  economic  grounds 
commends  itself  to  all  right-minded  persons.  The  instances 
of  this  method  of  treatment  are  not  rare ;  they  teach  an  in- 
valuable lesson,  and  the  experience  under  such  method  might 
be  repeated  by  every  employer  and  union  in  the  land.  It  is 
industrial  conciliation  pure  and  simple. 


§  156]  Arbitration.  297 

Of  course,  it  must  be  admitted  that  many  firms  and  corpo- 
rations have  a  strong  objection  to  allowing  any  one  to  examine 
their  accounts,  especially  if  they  are  either  very  prosperous  or 
very  much  involved ;  it  may  reveal  their  customers,  their 
special  prices,  or  even  their  trade  secrets. 

156.    Industrial  Arbitration. 

As  has  been  seen,  conciliation  is  a  method  of  adjustment 
through  the  powers  of  reasoning  and  the  exposition  of  facts, 
and  usually  some  attempt  is  made  to  come  to  an  understand- 
ing before  a  rupture  actually  takes  place.  Oftentimes,  how- 
ever, the  issue  is  declared  immediately  and  bluntly,  as  an  ulti- 
matum. Many  people  think  that  at  this  juncture  of  industrial 
controversy  the  parties  involved  should  resort  to  arbitration ; 
that  is,  that  all  questions  at  issue  should  be  submitted  to  an 
impartial  board,  which  should  take  into  consideration  all  the 
facts  on  both  sides  and  reach  a  basis  of  settlement.  This 
method  has  been  resorted  to  in  England  with  great  effect, 
especially  in  particular  trades  where  the  employers  and  the 
employees  have  established  mutual  and  voluntary  boards  of 
arbitration,  and  sometimes  side  by  side  with  a  legally-estab- 
lished board  constantly  existing.  In  this  country  some  twenty 
or  more  States  have  provided  for  boards  of  arbitration  to  which 
labour  controversies  may  be  submitted,  and  the  United  States 
Government,  by  an  act  approved  October  i,  1888,  repealed  by 
the  broader  act  of  June  i,  1898,  has  recognised  the  principle 
of  industrial  arbitration. 

When  this  principle  has  been  resorted  to  it  has  more  gen- 
erally been  through  mutual  boards  brought  into  existence  by 
the  act  of  the  parties  involved,  one  selecting  one  arbitrator, 
the  other  another,  and  the  two  selecting  a  third,  after  the  cus- 
tom of  settling  private  disputes,  when  the  parties  do  not  wish 
to  undergo  the  expense  and  the  time  necessary  to  carry  their 
contest  through  the  courts.  It  is  pre-eminently  a  civilised 
method  of  adjusting  difficulties.  It  has  not  been  carried  to 
any  very  great  extent  in  this,  country,  although  a  few  States 


298  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§  156 

(Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey)  have  active  and 
efficient  boards,  which  have  accomplished  something  in  the 
way  of  adjusting  aggravated  difficulties.  They  have  no  power 
to  enforce  their  decisions,  but  they  may  recommend  what  in 
their  judgment  seems  to  be  for  the  best  interests  of  all  con- 
cerned, the  public  being  considered  as  an  involuntary  party  to 
all  controversies. 

So  far  as  law  is  concerned,  in  this  country  and  in  Europe 
there  has  been  no  practical  resort  to  what  is  known  as  compul- 
sory arbitration  ;  that  is,  a  method  by  which  one  of  the  parties 
may  compel  the  other  to  submit  all  points  of  controversy  to  an 
official  board.  In  New  Zealand  and  New  South  Wales,  this 
method  has  been  applied,  and  so  far  without  much  difficulty. 
It  may  be,  however,  that  when  the  industries  of  New  Zealand 
are  more  extended,  or  a  really  great  strike  takes  place  on  a  fall- 
ing market,  the  compulsory  method  will  not  prove  satisfactory. 

Voluntary  arbitration  requires  a  very  high  moral  character 
of  the  parties  in  controversy,  since  each  must  be  willing  not 
only  to  submit  his  side  of  the  question,  but  to  produce  all  the 
facts  and  information  necessary  for  the  board  to  arrive  at  a 
just  and  equitable  conclusion.  Such  a  method  can  have  no 
disastrous  effect  upon  industry  or  upon  society,  and  is  indeed 
a  recognition  of  the  right  of  the  public  to  have  a  voice  in  the 
conduct  of  business.  Voluntary  arbitration  is  more  far-reach- 
ing than  its  advocates  usually  consider  it.  It  is  not  simply  an 
attempt  to  adjust  the  difficulties  between  two  contending  par- 
ties; it  is  a  manifestation  not  only  of  the  desire  but  of  the 
power  of  the  public  itself  to  say  to  the  parties  involved,  "  If 
you  cannot  carry  on  your  business  without  conflict,  we  will  aid 
you."  Whether  business  interests  or  the  public  itself  is  ready 
to  indorse  this  far-reaching  principle  is  a  question  which  must 
be  determined  in  the  near  future.  The  verdict  will  undoubt- 
edly be  that  the  public  will  insist  upon  business  being  so 
conducted  that  third  parties  shall  be  left  in  the  peaceful  en- 
joyment of  trade  and  commerce.  The  particular  difficulties 
existing  between  a  railroad  company  and  its  employees  ought 


§  156]  Arbitration.  299 

not  to  disturb  the  whole  business  of  transportation  or  stagnate 
any  particular  line  or  lines  of  business  or  trade.  The  public 
will  insist  upon  peace  and  the  peaceful  adjustment  of  industrial 
controversies. 

Compulsory  arbitration  is  not  only  the  most  imperfect  appli- 
cation of  this  power  of  the  public,  but  it  would  lead  to  results 
far  more  disastrous  than  those  following  strikes  and  lockouts ; 
for  when  it  is  admitted  that  one  of  the  parties  can  summon 
the  other  into  court,  and  by  default  or  on  hearing  secure  a 
decree  or  a  judgment,  there  is  but  one  inevitable  result,  —  the 
duty  of  the  government  to  enforce  the  judgment,  as  it  can  en- 
force the  judgment  of  any  court  of  law,  and  that  is  with  the 
whole  power  of  the  State,  both  civil  and  military.  For  in- 
stance, when  an  employer  is  to  be  compelled  to  pay  a  wage 
that  economic  conditions  will  not  permit,  his  business  must  be 
closed  if  he  cannot  pay ;  more  likely  there  will  be  some  kind 
of  combination  of  all  employers  in  the  Hne  involved,  which 
will  enable  them  to  resist  the  direct  influences  of  the  judg- 
ment. On  the  other  hand,  a  decree  which  should  seek  to 
compel  the  employee  to  accept  a  wage  which  he  did  not  wish 
to  accept  would  result  either  in  a  complete  withdrawal  from 
employment  or  a  disastrous  industrial  warfare,  or  the  driving 
of  men  to  the  bench  or  forge  by  armed  force,  and  that  is 
slavery. 

Thus  the  process  of  compulsory  arbitration  is  only  an  in- 
direct method  of  establishing  wages  and  prices  by  law. 
Wherever  it  has  been  attempted,  whether  in  England  or  in 
the  United  States,  failure  has  been  the  result,  and  failure  must 
inevitably  be  the  result  of  any  attempt  indirectly  to  fix  wages 
and  prices ;  for  if  prices  can  be  fixed  by  law  all  consumers 
must  be  compelled  under  a  penalty  to  purchase  the  commodi- 
ties they  wish  at  a  price  which  will  enable  producers  to  carry 
out  the  law.  It  may  be  that  by  and  by  there  will  be  some 
form  of  compulsory  adjustment  of  the  differences  which  may 
arise  between  railroad  companies  and  their  employees,  simply 
<sn  the  ground  that  railroads  are  quasi-public  corporations  and 


300  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§156 

their  employees  quasi-public  servants ;  yet  in  France  the  right 
of  railway  employees  to  be  absent  from  their  posts  without 
leave,  in  order  to  attend  a  labour  convention,  has  been  prac- 
tically approved  by  a  vote  of  the  Chamber. 

157.    Boycotts. 

The  boycott  is  only  a  modified  form  of  compulsion,  of  which 
the  essence  is  that  it  is  negative  in  its  action,  and  that  it  may 
apply  to  persons  not  themselves  parties  to  a  strike  or  lockout. 
One  body  of  men  undertakes  to  compel  another  body  or  an 
individual  to  do  certain  things  through  the  withdrawal  of 
patronage  from  their  opponent  or  from  his  friends  and  sym- 
pathisers. It  is  a  very  old  and  a  very  common  method  of 
dealing  with  persons  who  do  not  conform  to  conditions  deemed 
necessary  by  workmen  ;  for  instance,  goods  may  be  made  under 
insanitary  conditions,  by  miserably  paid  operatives,  and  a  so- 
ciety or  a  league  which  wishes  to  induce  the  public  to  condemn 
the  practices  of  the  manufacturer  or  dealer  seeks  to  secure  a 
withdrawal  of  patronage  from  such  manufacturer  or  dealer,  in 
the  hope  of  compelling  him  to  employ  operatives  at  a  decent 
wage  and  under  conditions  which  shall  conduce  to  their  gen- 
eral welfare.  Objectionable  dealers  may  be  driven  out  of 
the  line  of  competition  by  the  organised  refusal  to  buy  his 
goods,  or  by  the  organised  refusal  to  sell  to  him.  Working- 
men  resort  to  this  method  to  compel  the  producer  to  make  or 
sell  his  goods  in  the  way  which  they  prefer,  or  to  employ  only 
union  labour,  or  to  stamp  his  goods  with  the  union  label. 
These  are  the  usual  forms  of  boycott  with  which  the  public 
is  familiar. 

The  boycott  from  the  workman's  side  is  often  a  terribly 
effective  method,  because  it  not  only  deprives  a  man  of  his 
calling  ;  it  may  also  put  him  under  a  social  ban.  The  coarse 
but  telling  word  "  scab,"  applied  to  the  man  who  is  willing  to 
take  a  striker's  place,  may  mean  that  no  one  will  sell  him  food, 
or  give  him  lodging,  or  speak  a  friendly  word. 

On  the  other  hand,  capitalists  have  their  form  of  boycott 


§157]  Boycotts.  301 

against  each  other  and  against  labourers  ;  for  instance,  great 
railroads,  though  legally  bound  to  carry  on  equal  terras  what 
is  brought  to  them  to  transport,  do  not  hesitate  to  refuse  to 
sell  tickets  over  a  branch  or  a  connecting  road,  or  to  handle 
freight  which  comes  to  them  under  conditions  which  they  do 
not  like.  This  is  the  force  which  they  use  to  compel  such 
combination  or  limitation  or  restriction  as  the  boycotting  road 
thinks  desirable.  Trusts  are,  in  a  certain  sense,  organised  boy- 
cotts, under  which  all  who  come  into  the  trust  seek  to  crush 
out  those  who  do  not  come  in. 

Another  form  of  boycott  is  known  as  the  blacklist ;  that  is, 
a  union,  for  instance,  which  wishes  to  divert  trade  from  an 
employer  or  dealer  who  does  not  conform  to  the  demands  of 
the  union,  blacklists  the  party  against  whom  complaint  is  made 
by  notifying  all  other  unions  that  such  party  is  to  be  avoided 
and  trade  with  him  abandoned ;  or  a  union  may  blacklist  a 
non-union  man  or  some  person  within  the  union  who  has  broken 
some  regulation.  The  blacklist,  however,  is  more  generally 
resorted  to  by  the  employer,  when  some  offensive  employee 
has  been  discharged,  by  notifying  others  engaged  in  the  same 
line  of  business  not  to  employ  him.  It  is  a  favourite  method 
resorted  to  by  parties  on  both  sides,  and  yet  very  generally 
denied  by  them  ;  nevertheless,  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to 
show  that  the  blacklist  is  a  real  weapon  of  offensive  warfare 
used  by  either  party  when  controversies  arise,  or  when  condi- 
tions do  not  conform  to  a  certain  standard. 

The  boycott  may  be  the  subject  of  arbitration,  the  same  as 
the  more  offensive  strike  or  lockout.  Some  States  have  under- 
taken to  legislate  against  the  boycott  by  making  the  resort  to 
it  as  a  means  either  a  misdemeanor  or  a  crime,  and  punishable 
accordingly,  but  such  legislation  has  not  as  yet  been  very  effec- 
tive. There  are  many  quiet,  polite,  and  peaceful  ways  of 
enforcing  the  principle  known  as  the  boycott.  It  is  difficult  to 
so  legislate  as  to  compel  a  man  to  buy  his  goods  in  certain 
places  or  under  certain  conditions.  The  freedom  of  the  indi- 
vidual will  resents  all  such  matters  j  and  how  can  it  be  made  a 


302  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§J57 

crime  to  refuse  association  with  a  person  whom  one  does  not 
like  ?     The  law  can  reach  acts,  but  not  internal  preferences. 

158.     Injunctions. 

Originally,  in  England  and  elsewhere,  a  strike  was  in  itself 
an  unlawful  act;  at  present,  both  in  England  and  America, 
there  is  no  penalty  for  quietly  refusing  to  work,  but  violence, 
destruction  of  property,  and  intimidation  are  punishable. 
During  the  past  few  years  the  courts  have  exercised  their 
powers  under  what  is  known  as  a  writ  of  injunction,  to  prevent 
strikers  and  others  from  performing  some  act  which  it  is  con- 
sidered would  be  in  violation  of  law,  as  set  forth  in  a  specific 
order  of  the  court;  and  against  this  use  of  the  injunction 
workingmen  have  made  grave  complaint.  It  is  an  interesting 
sociological  subject,  because  it  is  far-reaching,  and  under  it  the 
welfare  of  society  may  be  greatly  disturbed  or  greatly  enhanced, 
according  to  the  wisdom  with  which  the  writ  is  applied. 

The  writ  of  injunction  is  intended  to  prevent  any  change  in 
the  conditions  of  a  case  while  it  is  pending,  but  some  five  hun- 
dred years  ago  the  chancery  courts  of  England,  in  order  to  carry 
out  the  policy  of  the  king,  were  called  upon  to  issue  injunctions 
to  restrain  parties  from  committing  violence  or  engaging  in 
riots,  or  in  other  ways  disturbing  the  peace,  though  such  acts, 
if  committed,  could  be  duly  punished.  This  was  a  very  great 
stretch  of  the  use  of  the  writ,  and  after  some  two  hundred  years 
of  practice  in  this  line  this  use  was  abandoned,  and  the  writ  of 
injunction  sought  only  in  certain  well-defined  cases.  Our  courts 
of  equity,  which  are  in  principle  the  chancery  courts  of  Eng- 
land, have  followed  the  English  precedents. 

An  injunction,  ordinarily,  is  granted  on  the  petition  of  the 
complainant  either  to  prevent  or  to  compel  action.  When  a 
party  finds  that  another  is  about  to  take  some  action  which 
would  be  prejudicial  to  the  first,  like  the  erection  of  a  nuisance 
in  the  vicinity  of  a  residence,  he  can  apply  to  a  court  of  com- 
petent jurisdiction  for  a  writ  of  injunction  to  restrain  the 
respondent  from  taking  the  anticipated  action.  In  such  case 


§158]  Injunctions.  303 

the  respondent  is  temporarily  enjoined  and  cited  into  court  to 
show  cause  why  a  perpetual  injunction  should  not  be  issued  in 
the  premises.  Sometimes  the  temporary  injunction  applies 
when  the  case  is  urgent ;  but  should  the  party  complained  of, 
either  under  temporary  or  permanent  injunction,  disregard  the 
orders  of  the  court,  he  would  be  guilty  of  contempt,  in  which 
case  the  court  issuing  the  writ  could  order  his  arrest,  and  on 
ex  parte  statements,  supported  by  proper  affidavits,  commit 
him  for  contempt,  and  punish  him  either  by  fine  or  imprison- 
ment, but  the  offence  in  such  cases  is  not  the  act  itself,  but  the 
act  while  the  court  had  the  matter  under  consideration. 

On  the  other  hand,  where  an  agreement  had  been  entered 
into,  and  one  of  the  parties  threatens  to  disregard  its  terms,  or 
fails  in  carrying  them  out,  the  party  aggrieved  may  apply  for  a 
writ  of  injunction  to  compel  what  is  known  in  law  as  a  specific 
performance  of  the  agreement.  By  disregarding  a  writ  in  this 
case  the  respondent  would  be  guilty  of  contempt  and  punish- 
able, as  in  the  case  just  cited. 

Recently  the  courts  have  extended  this  use  of  the  writ  of 
injunction,  and  made  it  apply  to  parties  engaged  in  strikes. 
The  most  notable  instance  of  this  occurred  during  the  Chicago 
strike  in  1894,  when  a  judge  of  the  United  States  Court  issued 
a  writ  of  injunction  against  Mr.  Debs,  the  President  of  the 
American  Railway  Union,  directing  him  to  refrain  from  all  acts, 
advice,  or  instigation  in  the  matters  then  pending.  In  the  writ 
all  other  persons  associated  with  Mr.  Debs  were  joined,  and 
then,  that  no  question  of  identity  should  arise,  all  persons 
whomsoever  were  enjoined.  Notice  was  served  upon  the  re- 
spondents, and  the  injunction  posted  on  cars  and  in  other 
places,  and  Mr.  Debs  and  some  others,  on  disregarding  the 
terms  of  the  writ,  were  arrested  for  contempt  of  court,  convicted, 
and  sentenced  to  imprisonment. 

The  complaint  of  the  workingmen  in  such  cases  lies  in  the 
fact  that  by  the  injunction  persons  are  warned  to  refrain  from 
doing  things  which,  if  clone,  would  be  crimes  under  statutory 
law  and  punishable  accordingly,  and  the  claim  is  made  that  they 


304  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§158 

should  be  allowed  to  be  tried  as  criminals,  or  as  breakers  of 
law,  by  a  jury  in  the  ordinary  way,  when  under  the  bill  of  rights 
of  all  States  and  of  all  governments  they  would  have  the  privi- 
lege of  facing  their  accusers  and  bringing  forward  evidence  in 
their  defence. 

Another  interesting  factor  in  the  case  is  to  be  found  in  two 
laws  passed  by  Congress.  Under  an  act  passed  in  1890,  com- 
monly known  as  the  anti-trust  law,  it  was  declared  that "  every 
contract,  combination  in  the  form  of  a  trust  or  otherwise,  or 
conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade  or  commerce  among  the  several 
States,  is  illegal;"  and  under  the  act  of  1887  creating  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  it  was  made  a  criminal 
offence  for  railroads,  their  officers  or  employees,  to  refuse  to 
perform  their  duties  as  common  carriers,  and  to  refuse  to  re- 
ceive the  cars  and  passengers  of  other  railroads  or  companies. 
As  a  direct  result  of  these  acts  a  strike  of  employees  becomes, 
in  effect,  a  conspiracy  against  interstate  commerce.  So  when 
strikers  so  conduct  themselves  as  to  restrain  trade  or  commerce 
among  the  States  or  allow  themselves  to  refuse  to  perform  their 
duties  in  receiving  cars  and  passengers  of  railroads  or  compa- 
nies engaged  in  interstate  commerce,  they  violate  the  condi- 
tions of  statutory  law,  and  can  be  dealt  with  under  such  law  • 
but  in  order  to  secure  prompt  and  effective  results  the  "  omni- 
bus "  or  "blanket  "  injunction  was  applied  in  1894,  and  those 
disregarding  the  injunction  were  held  as  guilty  of  contempt  of 
court,  although  trusts  and  railroads  had  for  years  violated  these 
very  provisions  of  the  laws  of  1887  and  1890,  and  no  injunc- 
tions had  been  issued  against  them. 

In  the  case  of  railroads  going  into  the  hands  of  receivers, 
they  must  be  run  practically  by  the  courts,  and  all  the  officers 
of  the  roads  or  agents  necessary  for  the  conduct  of  the  business 
of  transportation  are  practically  agents  of  the  courts,  and  the 
disobedience  of  their  orders  constitutes  contempt  of  court.  In 
all  these  cases  the  court  is  the  judge  and  the  jury ;  and  the 
punishment  may  be  fine  or  imprisonment  without  limit,  although 
imprisonment  usually  does  not  exceed  six  months. 


§159]  Conspiracy.  305 

Many  jurists  are  satisfied  that  this  use  of  the  injunction, 
which  is  popularly  known  now  as  government  by  injunction,  is 
altogether  too  extensive,  but  the  difficulty  lies  in  particularising 
by  statute  just  what  actions  shall  be  subject  to  the  writ  of  in- 
junction. The  purity  and  integrity  of  the  courts  constitute  the 
chief  reliance  of  the  public  in  these  matters,  for  when  it  is 
understood  that  the  writ  of  injunction  is  what  Lord  Eldon  in 
the  early  part  of  this  century  called  it,  "  the  right  hand  of  the 
courts,"  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  specific  limitations  can  be 
made  to  apply  with  justice  in  all  cases.  Certain  it  is  that  should 
the  use  of  the  writ  become  offensive  in  any  large  degree,  re- 
strictive legislation  will  be  demanded  and  secured. 

159.     Conspiracy. 

The  whole  question  turns  very  largely  upon  what  is  con- 
spiracy.1 Until  quite  late  in  this  century  any  combination 
of  workingmen  to  raise  wages  was  considered  a  conspiracy  to 
restrain  trade,  and  the  parties  to  the  combination  were  con- 
sidered guilty  of  conspiracy ;  but  as  time  has  gone  on  and  the 
conditions  of  industry  become  more  complicated,  the  courts 
have  held  that  workingmen  have  a  perfect  right  to  combine 
for  the  purpose  of  increasing  their  wages,  or  to  secure  a 
change  in  the  rules  or  regulations  under  which  they  are 
employed,  or  for  other  purposes.  The  courts  universally 
hold  now,  however,  that  while  such  a  combination  is  not 
a  conspiracy,  when  accompanied  by  acts  of  violence,  or  when 
it  is  unlawful,  —  that  is,  when  there  is  resort  to  unlawful  means 
by  what  is  called  unwarrantable  interference  with  the  conduct 
of  an  employer's  affairs,  through  threats  or  other  forms 
of  intimidation,  —  the  act  amounts  to  a  conspiracy  and  is 
punishable  accordingly.  Judge  Brady,  of  New  York,  in  a 
recent  case,  has  stated  that  no  doubt  exists  of  the  right  of 
the  workmen  to  seek  by  all  possible  means  an  increase  of 
wages,  and  all  meetings  and  combinations  having  that  object 

1  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Sixteenth  Annual  Report 
(1901).  Chapter  V. 

20 


306  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  [§159 

in  view,  which  are  not  distinguished  by  violence  or  threats, 
and  are  therefore  lawful,  cannot  be  reasonably  condemned,  or 
justly  interfered  with.  This  is  the  general  interpretation  of 
courts  at  the  present  time. 

In  many  of  the  States,  however,  legislation  has  been 
directed  towards  strikes,  boycotts,  and  lockouts.  In  many  of 
them,  where  the  common  law  of  England  was  in  force,  men 
have  been  tried  for  and  convicted  of  conspiracy  for  attempts 
to  coerce  their  employers  by  resorting  to  strikes  and  their 
concomitants,  —  the  boycotting  of  non-union  men  and  of  those 
who  employed  them.  In  recent  years  a  number  of  the  States 
and  Territories  have  endeavoured  to  make  plain  by  statute 
how  far  a  combination  by  employees  for  the  purpose  named 
is  to  be  protected,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  what  acts  will 
subject  the  perpetrators  to  punishment.  Where  there  is  an 
absence  of  such  legislation  the  common  law  on  the  subject  of 
conspiracy  appears  at  times  to  be  still  in  force,  while  in 
States  where  the  common  law  does  not  obtain,  the  absence 
of  statutory  enactments  on  the  subject  of  strikes  and  boycotts 
may  be  accounted  for  by  their  comparative  rarity ;  for  in 
localities  where  agriculture  is  the  chief  pursuit  of  the  people, 
and  where  the  mechanical,  manufacturing,  and  mining  interests 
are  of  little  or  no  importance,  strikes,  boycotts,  and  conspira- 
cies relating  to  wages  are  almost  unknown. 

Notwithstanding  this  agitation,  and  the  multiplication  of 
adjudged  cases,  so  that  the  learning  on  the  subject  becomes 
more  widely  known,  the  question  as  to  what  combinations 
of  workmen  or  employers  may  or  may  not  do  without  subject- 
ing themselves  to  indictment  for  conspiracy  is  still  oftentimes 
obscure,  and  those  who  find  it  necessary  to  come  to  a  conclu- 
sion on  a  specific  case  should  consult  not  only  the  decisions 
of  the  courts,  but  the  statutes  of  the  State  where  the  difficulty 
arises. 


Part  VI. 

Social  Weil-Being. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  ACCUMULATION   OF   WEALTH. 

160.    References. 

United  States  Eleventh  Census  (1890),  Report  on  Wealth,  Debt,  and 
Taxation;  M.  J.  Mulhall,  Industries  and  Wealth  of  Nations  ;  Massachu- 
setts Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour,  Fourth  Annual  Report,  Fifth  Annual 
Report,  Tenth  Annual  Report,  p.  15,  and  Twenty-fifth  Annual  Report, 
Part  II.  (School  Savings  Banks);  Charles  B.  Spahr,  The  Present  Distri- 
bution of  Wealth  in  the  United  States,  chs.  iii.-vi.  ;  Thomas  G.  Shearman, 
The  Coming  Billionaire,  in  Forum,  X.  546  (Jan.,  1891) ;  G.  B.  Waldron, 
A  Handbook  of  Currency  and  Wealth ;  W.  H.  Mallock,  Classes  and 
Masses ;  J.  R.  Commons,  Distribution  of  Wealth  ;  William  Smart,  The 
Distribution  of  Income  ;  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labour,  Ninth  Annual 
Report,  1893  (Building  and  Loan  Associations)  ;  Comptroller  of  the  Cur- 
rency, Reports ;  Seymour  Dexter,  Co-operative  Savings  and  Loan  Associa- 
tions ;  H.  S.  Rosenthal,  Building  and  Loan  Associations  ;  Henry  W.  Wolf, 
People's  Banks ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Principles  of  Building  and  Loan 
Associations,  in  Savings  and  Loan  Review,  XVIII.  17  (July,  1898) ; 
Charles  N.  Thompson,  A  Treatise  on  Building  Associations,  adapted  to  the 
use  of  Lawyers  and  Officers  ;  Mary  M.  Janvier,  School  Savings  Banks,  in 
Chautauquan,  XIX.  749  (Sept.,  1894) ;  J.  H.  Thiry,  of  Long  Island  City, 
N.  Y.,  Annual  Reports  relating  to  School  Savings  Banks ;  Postmaster- 
General  of  the  United  States,  Annual  Reports,  1896-9  (Postal  Savings 
Depositories);  James  H.  Hamilton,  Savings  and  Savings  Institutions. 

161.     Sociological  View  of  Wealth. 

The  material  functions  of  society  have  been  established 
primarily  to  secure  the  individual  against  want ;  hence  the 
accumulation  of  wealth  claims  the  chief  attention  of  man,  and 

307 


308  Accumulation  of  Wealth.  [§  161 

the  methods  of  accumulation  must  necessarily  have  an  influ- 
ence upon  the  development  of  the  individual,  such  develop- 
ment being  commensurate  with  the  enlightenment  attending 
the  accumulation.  Systems  of  labour  and  methods  of  produc- 
tion have  much  to  do  with  the  character  of  the  individual 
units  and  of  society  at  large  ;  so  that  all  the  phases  of  wealth, 
whether  they  relate  to  its  accumulation  or  its  distribution,  are 
matters  of  practical  sociology. 

The  economic  definitions  of  wealth  need  not  be  discussed 
in  this  place,  but  taking  wealth  in  its  general  significance,  it 
may  be  said  to  comprehend  the  accumulation  of  all  material 
things  which  are  the  subject  of  desire,  —  land,  buildings,  furni- 
ture, books,  pictures,  money,  —  everything  which  conduces  to 
man's  comfort,  convenience,  and  happiness.  This  is  wealth 
in  the  sociological  sense,  and  whatever  the  psychological 
results  of  industry  may  be,  physically  speaking,  properly  regu- 
lated industry  must  result  in  accumulation,  and  thus  in  the 
improved  condition  of  the  individual  units  of  society.  Private 
property,  therefore,  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  social 
advancement,  because  it  stimulates  accumulation,  without 
which  civilisation  could  not  be  developed  as  at  present,  and 
the  standard  of  living  would  be  that  of  the  savage,  and  the 
individual  would  have  little  ambition  to  secure  and  uphold 
the  family.  As  Blackstone  has  put  it,  "  the  sacredness  of 
private  property  lies  in  the  fundamental  principle  or  interest 
of  self-preservation  ;  in  fact,  private  property  finds  its  existence 
in  this  instinct ;  for  property  is  the  means  by  which  not  only 
is  self  preserved,  but  by  which  the  species  may  be  perpetu- 
ated." The  accumulation  of  property,  then,  becomes  a  duty 
as  well  as  a  desire,  and  the  peaceful  conduct  of  industrial 
enterprises  a  necessity.  The  social  well-being  of  any  com- 
munity rests  upon  its  ability  to  develop  itself  by  supplying 
itself  with  whatever  is  necessary  for  its  true  culture. 


§  162]  Earnings.  309 

162.     Earnings   and    Wealth. 

It  is  only  within  recent  years  that  the  statistical  method  has 
enabled  us  to  approximate  closely  the  earnings  and  wealth  of 
different  peoples,  and  this  only  during  the  present  century  ; 
and  even  now  the  facts  relative  to  total  wealth  are  more  avail- 
able than  those  relating  to  individual  fortunes,  yet  while  total 
wealth  is  very  unequally  distributed,  the  total  represents  the 
general  prosperity  of  a  nation.  Up  to  about  1825  all  state- 
ments relative  to  wealth  and  the  general  earnings  of  the 
people  at  large  were  the  results  of  estimates  based  upon 
taxation  and  some  other  elements  of  fact.  Now,  with  all  the 
faultiness  of  the  statistics  of  wealth,  owing  to  differences  in 
valuation,  the  hesitancy  of  property  owners  to  state  fully  their 
holdings,  and  other  difficulties,  the  figures  furnish  a  fair  indi- 
cation of  the  increase  of  wealth  and  of  general  earnings. 

According  to  Mulhall,  the  earnings  of  the  people  of  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  in  1812 
amounted  to  $107  per  head,  equivalent  to  35  bushels  of 
wheat;  in  1836,  the  earnings  were  $117  per  head,  being  the 
equivalent  of  76  bushels  of  wheat ;  in  1860,  $156,  the  equiva- 
lent of  94  bushels  per  capita,  while  in  1895,  the  earnings 
were  $175  per  capita,  the  equivalent  of  245  bushels  of  wheat. 
So  for  Great  Britain  the  average  earnings  per  inhabitant  have 
risen  50  per  cent  in  money  since  1836,  and  their  equivalent 
in  wheat  has  increased  threefold. 

The  earnings  for  France  were,  for  1816,  $73  per  inhabitant; 
for  1860,  $117  ;  and  for  1894,  $151,  the  money  increase  being 
over  100  per  cent  since  1816. 

The  wealth  of  Great  Britain  at  the  present  time  amounts  to 
$1,470  per  head,  while  in  1860  it  was  $1,212.  In  France 
the  wealth  per  inhabitant  in  1830  was  $438,  in  1869,  $857, 
and  in  1892,  $1,178. 

For  our  own  country  the  estimates  of  total  wealth  at 
different  periods  are  shown  by  the  following  table.  By  "true 
valuation  "  is  meant  the  fair  selling  price  of  property,  and  is 


310 


Accumulation  of  Wealth. 


[§162 


used  to  distinguish  selling  price  from  "assessed  valuation," 
which  is  a  valuation  put  upon  property  taxed  and  for  purposes 
of  taxation  only  :  — 


True  Valuation. 

Assessed  Valuation  of  Real  and 
Personal  Property  Taxed. 

Total. 

Per 
capita. 

Increase. 
(Percent.) 

Total. 

Per 
capita. 

Increase. 
[Per  cent.) 

1850 

$7,135,780,228 

$308 

. 

$6,024,666,909 

$260 

•      • 

1860. 

16,159,616,068 

5M 

126.46 

12,084,560,005 

384 

10.58 

1870. 

30,068,518,507 

780 

86.07 

14,178,986,732 

368 

17-33 

1880. 

43,642,000,000 

870 

45.14 

1  7,139,903,495 

342 

20.88 

1890. 

65,037,091,197 

1,036 

T  2,17 

49.02 
AA  OO 

25,473,173>4i8 

407 

48.62 

a    Estimated,  as  data  for  1900  have  not  yet  been  collected. 

An  interesting  question  is  in  what  visible  forms  is  this  enor- 
mous wealth  to  be  found.  The  rough  additions  in  the  census 
of  1890  show  about  two-thirds  in  the  form  of  real  estate  and 
improvements  thereon,  which  includes  all  lands  and  lots,  but 
not  mines,  quarries,  telegraphs,  telephones,  or  railroads,  except 
in  a  few  States  where  the  road-bed,  station-houses,  and  repair- 
shops  of  railroads  are  classed  as  real  estate  for  purposes  of 
taxation,  and  their  value  is  not  separately  stated.  The  results 
are  as  follows  :  — 

Real  Estate,  with  Improvements  thereon $39.544,544-333 

Livestock  on  Farms,  Farm  Implements,  and  Machinery  .  2,703,015,040 

Mines  and  Quarries,  including  product  on  hand      .     .     .  1,291,291,579 

Gold  and  Silver  Coin  and  Bullion 1,158,774,948 

Machinery  of  Mills  and  product  on  hand,  Raw  and  Manu- 
factured    3,058,593,441 

Railroads   and   Equipments,  including    $389,357,289   for 

Street  Railroads 8,685,407,323 

Telegraphs,  Telephones,  Shipping,  Canals,  and  Equipment  701,755,71 2 

Miscellaneous 7,893,708,821 

Total $65,037,091,197 


§  163]  Individual  Wealth.  311 

In  all  probability  the  totals  are  far  from  complete,  and  in 
the  earlier  years  by  decades  much  less  complete  than  later ; 
but  add  one  half  to  the  totals  for  1850  and  1860  and  still 
the  increase  is  gratifying,  showing  that  the  United  States 
as  a  nation  has  developed  its  wonderful  natural  resources 
through  the  energy  of  its  industries.  Both  capital  and  labour 
are  responsible  for  this  marvellous  development.  It  is  only 
natural  that  with  such  rapid  strides  the  distribution  of  this  vast 
amount  of  wealth  should  be  very  unequal,  but  there  must  have 
been  benefits  accruing  to  all  classes. 

The  means  of  obtaining  this  vast  amount  of  wealth  are  found 
in  agriculture,  manufactures,  commerce,  fisheries,  and  mining. 
The  total  estimated  value  of  the  products  of  all  the  natural 
resources  alone  for  the  year  1900  was  the  enormous  sum  of 
$6,000,000,000,  and  this  does  not  include  the  products  of 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries.  Notwithstanding 
this  great  annual  production  and  the  vast  accumulation  in  the 
years  past,  it  would  not  take  long,  with  production  entirely 
suspended  to  exhaust  the  whole  accumulation.  During  the 
year  1900  it  must  have  cost  the  people  of  the  United  States 
for  their  support,  on  a  fair  estimate,  $15,000,000,000.  The 
wealth  of  the  country  would,  allowing  that  lands  and  buildings 
could  be  turned  into  consumable  wares,  support  the  people  for 
a  little  more  than  five  years,  if  so  long.  This  illustration  shows 
how  close  the  people  are  to  dependence  upon  the  annual  pro- 
duction instead  of  upon  accumulated  wealth. 

163.  Individual  Wealth. 

The  acquisition  of  wealth  by  the  individual  is  through  the 
part  he  plays  as  an  earner  in  society.  He  may  inherit  prop- 
erty, but  even  that  inheritance  is  the  result  of  previous  individ- 
ual frugality  and  the  economical  use  of  earnings.  The  earnings 
of  the  individual  constitute  his  and  the  nation's  chief  source  of 
accumulation.  The  individual  desire  which  lies  back  of  the 
effort  is  one  that  can  be  developed  by  environment,  but  it 
belongs,  after  all,  to  the  natural  ambitions  born  with  the 
individual. 


312  Accumulation  of  Wealth.  [§163 

American  statistics  do  not  warrant  any  very  careful  classifi- 
cation of  the  distribution  of  wealth.  The  government  has 
never  felt  at  liberty  to  make  inquiry  concerning  the  posses- 
sions of  individuals.  When  the  income  tax  was  in  force  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War  it  resulted  in  a  classification  of  incomes,  but 
the  returns  were  altogether  too  faulty  to  warrant  a  valuable 
conclusion.  The  assessors  of  the  country  might  classify  the 
estates  or  personal  holdings  of  the  inhabitants  did  law  make 
provision  for  such  classification,  but  in  all  States  assessment 
must  be  made  for  purposes  of  taxation  only.  So  far  such 
classification  has  not  been  carried  out  to  any  extent,  certainly 
not  sufficiently  to  warrant  any  conclusion.  Therefore  all  the 
statements  which  one  sees  relating  to  the  number  of  persons 
having  such  and  such  a  fortune,  or  the  number  of  people 
having  no  fortunes,  are  estimates  based  upon  individual 
observation  and  that  "  general  information  "  which  generally 
misinforms. 

In  England  the  classification  is  more  reasonable  because  of 
the  regularity  of  their  method  of  taxation,  and  their  systematic 
record  as  to  the  distribution  of  wealth  through  the  administra- 
tion by  the  courts  of  the  succession  duty.  As  an  example  of 
such  classification  reference  may  be  made  to  Mulhall's  "  In- 
dustries and  Wealth  of  Nations,"  in  which  he  makes  a  distri- 
bution based  on  the  probate  returns  for  the  five  years  ending 
in  1893.  With  a  population  in  1891  of  38,857,000  he  finds 
that  the  rich  numbered  327,000,  with  an  average  of  about 
$136,000  per  head;  that  the  middle  class  numbered  2,380, 
ooo,  with  nearly  $4,500  per  head ;  that  the  working  class 
numbered  18,210,000,  with  about  $150  per  head,  and  the 
children,  17,940,000,  without  any  estimate  as  to  their  holdings. 
The  average  for  the  whole  population  was  $1,470  per  capita. 
Under  this  classification  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  total  wealth  of 
Great  Britain  is  held  by  about  one  sixty-seventh  of  the  adult 
population,  the  middle  class  constituting  1 1  per  cent  of  the 
population  and  holding  18  per  cent  of  the  wealth.  Whether 
such  a  classification  would  be  fairly  representative  in  the 


§164]  Savings  Institutions.  313 

United  States  cannot  be  ascertained,  but  in  all  probability  the 
distinctions  here  approximate  those  for  the  United  Kingdom. 

164.   Savings  Institutions. 

The  possession  of  lands,  whether  in  farms  or  building  lots, 
and  of  homes,  is  the  desire  of  most  of  the  human  race ;  next 
thereafter  the  individual  wishes  to  possess  accumulations  in 
the  form  of  the  representatives  of  property,  such  as  money, 
loans,  bonds,  stocks,  mortgages,  —  anything  that  has  a  value 
in  exchange  and  by  the  use  of  which  more  and  better  conven- 
iences can  be  secured. 

To  stimulate  frugality,  to  enable  the  individual  to  own  his 
home,  or  to  improve  his  condition,  there  have  been  established 
in  most  countries  institutions  known  as  savings  banks,  in  which 
people  can  deposit  small  amounts,  which,  united  with  similar 
deposits  of  other  people,  make  in  the  aggregate  large  sums ; 
this  accumulation  can  be  loaned  on  securities  at  the  usual 
rates  of  interest,  so  that  the  individual  depositor  can  secure 
his  share  of  the  interest  return,  when  as  an  individual  he 
could  not  profitably  or  so  safely  invest  his  money.  All  such 
institutions  are  regulated  by  law,  the  officers  thereof  being 
obliged  to  make  returns  to  the  State  government,  so  that  it 
and  the  public  may  know  how  they  are  being  conducted.  The 
methods  of  investment  are  also  regulated  by  State  law.  Usu- 
ally the  deposits  of  a,  savings  bank  must  be  loaned  on  real 
estate  as  security,  or  else  upon  specified  classes  of  bonds  and 
obligations. 

These  institutions  sometimes  fail,  sometimes  from  embezzle- 
ments, although  more  often  through  mismanagement  or  lack 
of  judgment,  under  which  loans  have  been  made  upon  insuffi- 
cient security  with  the  hope  of  receiving  a  large  interest.  On 
the  whole,  the  savings  banks  of  this  country  have  been  well 
conducted,  and  they  have  been  the  means  of  building  up 
communities  and  of  enabling  families  to  establish  themselves 
in  comfort,  for  the  savings  bank  primarily  loans  to  small 
borrowers.  Sometimes,  when  there  is  a  plethora  of  money,  they 


314  Accumulation  of  Wealth-  [§164 

make  loans  of  money  to  manufacturing  and  other  establishments 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  some  great  enterprises.  From  a 
business  point  of  view  the  savings  bank  collects  small  amounts 
from  a  large  number  of  individuals  and  puts  the  accumulation 
into  active  enterprises,  either  of  building  or  of  manufacturing, 
thus  enabling  the  person  with  only  a  few  dollars  to  become 
interested  in  the  industrial  prosperity  of  his  community. 

England,  France,  Belgium,  and  other  European  countries 
have  established  such  institutions,  and  they  have  been  prosper- 
ous. In  the  United  States,  according  to  the  latest  returns 
(those  for  1901,  as  published  by  the  Comptroller  of  the 
Currency  of  the  Federal  Government,  though  some  of  the 
savings  banks  are  not  included  in  the  reports),  the  total  num- 
ber of  savings  bank  depositors  was  6,358,723,  the  total  amount 
of  deposits  $2,597,094,580,  and  the  average  of  each  depositor 
$408.30.  The  increase  in  the  average  amount  due  each  de- 
positor has  been  from  $131.86  in  1820  to  $408.30  in  1901. 
This  is  an  average  of  $33.45  for  the  total  population. 

It  is  often  stated  that  the  amount  of  deposits  in  the  savings 
banks  of  the  country  represents  the  savings  of  the  wage-earners. 
This  statement  is  only  partially  true,  for  it  has  been  proved  by 
investigation  that  only  about  half  of  the  deposits  in  the  savings 
banks  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  belong  to  this 
class  of  depositors.  If  Massachusetts  is  representative,  half 
of  the  accumulations  in  the  savings  banks  of  the  country  be- 
long to  the  wage-earners  ;  this  is  a  gratifying  statement.  The 
vast  amount  in  the  savings  banks  indicates  an  individual  pros- 
perity that  is  satisfactory,  or  at  least  indicates  that  individuals 
belonging  to  the  earning  classes  are  saving  their  earnings  and 
are  becoming  in  a  certain  sense  capitalists,  and  by  their  savings 
contribute  to  the  great  sums  which  are  used  so  effectively  in 
developing  resources  and  building  up  enterprises. 

A  method  to  induce  economic  and  frugal  habits  among  chil- 
dren is  to  be  found  in  the  establishment  of  school  savings 
banks,  which  have  existed  for  some  years  in  France,  Belgium, 
Italy,  and  some  other  countries,  and  now  in  this  country. 


§  164]  Savings   Institutions.  315 

They  were  established  in  France  about  1834,  but  they  attracted 
little  attention  in  that  country  until  1870;  there  are  now  offi- 
cial reports  of  the  doings  of  the  school  savings  banks  in  that 
country.  The  father  of  the  system  in  this  country  is  Mr.  J.  H. 
Thiry,  of  Long  Island  City,  a  native  of  France,  and  formerly  a 
resident  of  Belgium,  who  became  very  much  interested  in  the 
school  savings  bank  system  as  practised  in  those  countries. 
According  to  his  latest  annual  report,  the  total  number  of 
pupils  having  deposits  in  such  banks  in  eighteen  different 
States  is  63,576.  They  have  from  time  to  time  deposited 
nearly  $900,000 ;  deducting  withdrawals,  they  have  at  the 
present  time  nearly  a  third  of  a  million  dollars  to  their  credit. 
Another  system  of  savings  is  known  as  the  postal  savings 
bank,  under  which  persons  may  deposit  small  amounts  at  desig- 
nated post-offices  and  receive  a  certificate  therefor.  The  postal 
savings  system  is  not  new,  having  been  established  in  nearly 
every  country  in  Europe,  in  the  British  dependencies,  and  even 
in  Hawaii.  In  Great  Britain  alone  there  were  at  last  accounts 
seven  million  depositors,  having  upward  of  five  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  dollars  in  savings  to  their  credit.  In  ten  years 
ten  thousand  Hawaiian  depositors  saved  nearly  one  million  dol- 
lars. The  system  works  with  success  in  Canada.  Some  of  the 
advantages  which  are  claimed  to  result  from  the  adoption  of 
such  a  system  are  to  be  found  in  the  growth  of  patriotic  senti- 
ment and  good  citizenship,  as  well  as  in  the  cultivation  of  habits 
of  thrift  and  economy.  Some  of  the  disadvantages  which  it  is 
claimed  would  result  in  the  United  States  from  the  establish- 
ment of  such  a  system  are  the  depletion  of  the  deposits  in  the 
ordinary  savings  banks  and  the  difficulty  of  investing  the 
accumulations,  especially  as  it  would  be  difficult  for  the  Federal 
government  to  use  the  vast  accumulations  in  business  ways,  as 
is  now  done  by  other  savings  institutions,  thus  withdrawing  a 
vast  amount  of  money  from  active  participation  in  production 
and  the  conduct  of  business  generally.  The  Honourable  Post- 
master-General has  summed  up  the  question  very  ably  in  his  re- 
port for  the  year  ending  June,  1897,  and  his  office  is  in  posses- 
sion of  a  vast  amount  of  information  relative  to  other  countries. 


316  Accumulation  of  Wealth.  [§165 

165.  Building  and  Loan  Associations. 

A  class  of  savings  institutions  closely  allied  to  savings  banks 
are  what  are  known  as  building  and  loan  associations.  This 
term  is  used  in  a  general  sense,  although  the  institution  itself 
is  known  under  various  names,  such  as  mutual  loan  associations ; 
homestead  aid  associations  ;  savings,  fund,  and  loan  associations  ; 
co-operative  banks,  etc.,  but  the  object  of  such  as  take  these 
or  the  general  name  of  building  and  loan  association  is  to 
furnish  a  safe  means  for  the  accumulation  of  savings,  accom- 
panied with  an  opportunity  to  secure  money  at  reasonable 
rates  for  the  purpose  of  building  or  purchasing  homes.  The 
association  is  a  private  corporation,  designed  for  the  accumula- 
tion of  money  by  periodical  payments,  the  accumulations  to  be 
invested  from  time  to  time  in  loans  to  the  members  of  the 
association  upon  real  estate  which  they  may  have  purchased 
for  occupancy.  The  borrowers  pay  interest  and  also  a  premium 
in  order  to  secure  as  a  loan  the  money  which  has  accumulated 
through  the  periodical  payments  of  the  members  ;  it  is  usually 
assigned  to  the  member  bidding  the  highest  premium.  The 
stated  fees  and  all  the  revenues  of  an  association  form  a  com- 
mon fund  until  such  time  as  the  payments  and  profits  equal  the 
face  value  of  the  shares  outstanding  at  any  particular  time, 
when  the  assets,  after  the  payment  of  all  expenses  and  losses, 
are  distributed  pro  rata  among  the  members,  in  accordance 
with  the  number  of  their  shares,  and  this  distribution  cancels 
the  borrower's  debt. 

The  methods  of  business  of  a  building  and  loan  association 
are  somewhat  complicated.  Every  member  must  be  a  stock- 
holder. The  difference  between  a  stockholder  in  a  building 
and  loan  association  and  one  in  an  ordinary  corporation  lies  in 
the  fact  that  in  the  latter  a  member  or  stockholder  buys  his 
stock  and  pays  for  it,  and  usually  is  not  called  upon  for  any 
further  payment.  In  a  building  and  loan  association  the 
member  or  stockholder  pays  a  stipulated  minimum  sum  (say 
$i),  when  he  takes  his  membership  and  buys  a  share  of  stock. 


§165]      Building  and  Loan  Associations.       317 

He  then  continues  to  pay  a  like  sum  each  month  until  the 
aggregate  of  sums  paid,  increased  by  the  profits,  amounts  to  the 
maturing  value  of  the  stock  (usually  $200),  when  the  stock- 
holder is  entitled  to  the  full  maturing  value  of  the  share,  and 
surrenders  the  same. 

The  way  in  which  a  shareholder  who  desires  to  build  a  house, 
and  has  secured  a  lot  for  that  purpose,  may  borrow  money  of 
an  association  of  which  he  is  a  member  is  as  follows  :  Ordina- 
rily, a  shareholder  under  this  condition  may  borrow  money 
from  the  association  of  which  he  is  a  member.  Suppose  a  man 
who  has  secured  his  lot  wishes  to  borrow  $1,000  for  the  erection 
of  a  house.  He  must  be  the  holder  of  five  shares  in  his  asso- 
ciation, each  share  having  as  its  maturing  value  $200  ;  his  five 
shares,  therefore,  when  matured  will  be  worth  $1,000,  the 
amount  of  money  which  he  desires  to  borrow.  To  secure  this 
$1,000,  he  gives  the  association  a  mortgage  on  his  property  and 
pledges  his  five  shares  of  stock.  To  cancel  this  debt  he  is 
constantly  paying  his  regular  dues  and  one  dollar  per  share 
extra,  until  such  time  as  the  constant  payment,  plus  the  accu- 
mulation of  profits  through  compounded  interest,  matures  the 
shares  at  $200  each.  At  this  time,  then,  he  surrenders  his 
shares,  and  the  debt  upon  his  property  is  cancelled.  Associa- 
tions may  loan  to  others  than  parties  desiring  to  build  a  home 
when  the  demand  for  home  loans  is  not  sufficient  to  absorb 
the  funds  on  hand ;  and  members  are  not  required  to  borrow 
from  the  association,  but  may  make  their  payments  and  with- 
draw the  proceeds  (principal  and  interest)  at  maturity. 

The  growth  of  these  associations  in  the  United  States  has 
been  very  rapid  since  1840,  their  accumulated  assets  increas- 
ing to  an  enormous  amount.  Although  they  do  a  semi-banking 
business,  and  are  conducted  by  men  not  trained  as  bankers, 
they  have  been  fairly  successful.  According  to  the  latest 
statistics  on  the  subject,  the  total  number  of  building  and  loan 
associations  in  the  country,  estimated  on  annual  statements  of 
all  such  associations  in  1893,  probably  amounts  to  6,000,  with 
nearly  2,000,000  shareholders,  and  with  total  dues  paid  in  on 


3 1 8  Accumulation  of  Wealth.  [§  165 

shares  and  accrued  profits  amounting  to  probably  more  than 
$650,000,000.  A  business  represented  by  this  great  sum,  con- 
ducted quietly,  with  little  or  no  advertising  and  on  a  basis  of 
very  light  expenses,  shows  that  the  common  people,  in  their 
own  ways,  are  quite  competent  to  take  care  of  their  savings. 
Up  to  1893  the  number  of  failures  was  very  small;  in  that 
year  only  35  of  the  associations  then  in  existence  showed  a 
loss,  and  that  amounted  to  only  a  little  over  $23,000.  Dis- 
bandment  and  a  winding  up  of  the  concern  usually  does  not 
mean  loss,  because  the  whole  business  of  the  association  con- 
sists of  its  loans,  and  these  loans  are  to  its  own  shareholders, 
as  a  rule,  who  hold  the  securities  in  their  associated  form.  A 
disbanded  association,  therefore,  simply  returns  to  its  own 
members  their  own  property. 

Some  States  of  the  Union  exercise  supervision  over  building 
and  loan  associations  by  bringing  them  under  the  general 
supervision  of  laws  relating  to  savings  banks;  in  other 
States  nothing  is  officially  known  of  building  and  loan  asso- 
ciations beyond  the  formalities  of  their  incorporation.  As 
they  come  more  and  more  under  general  supervision,  their 
safety  is  increased  and  their  usefulness  expanded.  In  some 
parts  of  the  country,  particularly  in  the  West,  the  business 
has  been  organised  on  a  great  scale,  with  parent  and  branch 
offices,  loans  being  made  by  distant  and  often  inexperienced 
managers ;  the  result  in  many  cases  was  loss  and  lack  of  con- 
fidence. There  is  no  reason,  however,  why  these  great  asso- 
ciations should  not  succeed  when  properly  managed. 

166.     Insurance  and  Mutual  Benefit  Associations. 

All  associations  created  for  the  purpose  of  securing  to  their 
members  some  benefit  on  account  of  sickness,  accident,  loss 
of  work,  or  other  cause,  or  to  the  widow  and  heirs  of  the 
member,  are  practically  insurance  companies  or  associations ; 
that  is,  they  embody  the  principle  of  insurance,  varying  the 
form  of  the  benefit  to  be  derived  by  the  payment  of  dues. 

A  life  insurance  company,  as  such,  undertakes  simply  to  pay 


§i66j        Insurance  and  Mutual  Benefit.        319 

the  heirs  of  the  insured  a  certain  amount  of  money  on  the 
death  of  the  member  or  insured  person,  or  to  pay  a  certain 
amount  of  money  after  the  payment  of  premiums  for  a  stipu- 
lated number  of  years.  There  are  many  forms  of  policies 
issued  by  insurance  companies,  but  the  principle  of  all  of  them 
is  practically  the  same.  Accident  insurance  companies  under- 
take to  pay  a  certain  amount,  as  agreed,  when  the  insured 
person  meets  with  any  accident  which  incapacitates  him  from 
pursuing  his  usual  calling,  or,  in  case  of  death,  a  stipulated 
amount  to  the  heirs  or  representatives  of  the  deceased.  In 
the  mutual  associations  dues  are  paid  and  the  members  are 
entitled  to  stipulated  benefits  under  certain  contingencies. 
They  may  receive  benefits  during  their  lives,  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  by-laws  of  the  association  and  the  agreements 
entered  into  thereunder,  as  in  the  case  of  sickness,  accident, 
loss  of  work,  or  otherwise.  Life  insurance  proper  and  all  the 
modifications  of  simple  life  insurance  have  conferred  great 
benefits  upon  the  insured  when  the  companies  or  associations 
carrying  on  the  business  have  been  managed  with  integrity  and 
financial  ability.  Whenever  losses  have  occurred  or  the  in- 
sured has  found  himself  without  insurance  after  a  lapse  of 
years,  it  has  been  through  either  mismanagement  of  the  funds 
of  the  company  or  association  or  the  attempt  to  insure  at  less 
than  cost.  The  latter  is  the  chief  cause  of  failure  among 
mutual  associations ;  for  the  death  rate  cannot  permanently 
be  figured  away  by  book-keepers,  any  more  than  can  the 
cost  of  manufacturing  pig-iron  or  any  other  commodity.  A 
life  insurance  company  does  not  do  a  savings-bank  business, 
.  although  under  some  policies  there  is  to  be  found  the  element 
of  savings. 

A  man  by  getting  his  life  insured  in  a  financially  sound  com- 
pany may  secure  great  benefit  therefrom,  or  at  least  may 
secure  great  benefits  for  his  heirs  in  case  of  early  decease  ; 
that  is,  he  may  pay  but  one  premium,  and  if  he  should  die 
before  the  next  premium  is  due,  his  heirs  would  be  entitled  to 
the  amount  stated  in  the  policy.  Then,  again,  he  may  live 


320  Accumulation  of  Wealth.          [§  166 

long  enough  to  pay  to  the  insurance  company  as  much  as  or 
more  than  his  heirs  will  receive  at  his  death.  Insurance  means 
an  equalisation  of  burdens  ;  those  who  die  early  pay  in  but  little, 
while  those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  live  to  old  age  pay  in 
very  much  more.  Their  benefit  is  in  living,  and  thus  the  bur- 
den of  care  is  equalised.  It  is  purely  a  co-operative  under- 
taking in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  word. 

It  is  precisely  the  same  with  fire  insurance.  The  man  who 
insures  his  house  pays  his  premium ;  and  if  it  does  not  burn 
he  considers  himself  fortunate,  although  he  has  expended  his 
premium.  Should  his  house  burn,  if  he  is  honest  he  is  less 
fortunate,  for  a  policy  may  recoup  his  money  loss  pro  tanto, 
but  seldom  reimburses  him  for  the  interruption  and  vexation. 
The  principle  of  fire  insurance  is  that  all  persons  whose  houses 
do  not  burn  can  afford  to  lose  the  premium  for  the  sake  of 
recouping  the  man  whose  house  does  take  fire. 

In  life  insurance  the  insured  is  more  sensitive  in  regard  to 
the  expense,  and  he  feels  that,  although  he  may  be  insured  a 
number  of  years,  if  his  insurance  ceases  he  has  in  some  way 
been  cheated,  when  the  fact  is  that  he  has  had  all  the  insur- 
ance for  which  he  has  paid,  and  the  only  disadvantage  to  him 
is  that  he  is  older  and  cannot  reinsure  at  the  same  rates  which 
were  allowed  him  at  an  earlier  age.  This  feature  does  not 
obtain  in  fire  insurance.  Notwithstanding  this,  all  life  in- 
surance must  be  considered  as  an  element  of  savings,  for  it 
induces  one  to  exercise  frugality  and  keep  up  his  policy,  that 
his  family  may  not  be  left  without  means  by  sudden  death  ; 
and  in  all  properly  conducted  business  the  premium  is  more 
than  the  actual  risk,  so  as  to  accumulate  a  fund  for  the  later 
continuance  of  the  policy ;  this  excess  is  a  saving,  and  in  all 
good  policies  may  be  drawn  out  if  the  policy  is  surrendered. 
It  is,  on  the  whole,  a  most  beneficient  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  co-operation.  The  millions  that  are  paid  out  testify 
to  the  popularity  of  the  institution ;  the  hundreds  of  millions 
invested  to  meet  death  claims  show  what  provision  the  fore- 
sighted  are  making  for  the  future  of  those  dependent  on  them. 


§  166]      Insurance  and  Mutual  Benefit.         321 

Insurance  certainly  tends  to  the  upbuilding  of  social  well- 
being,  for  it  relieves  the  insured  of  a  very  unpleasant  anxiety 
relative  to  the  condition  of  his  family  should  sickness  and 
death  overtake  him. 

The  vastness  of  the  business  is  comprehended  when  we  con- 
sider the  money  values  involved.  January  i,  1901,  according 
to  the  Insurance  Year-Book,  the  assets  of  what  are  known  as 
regular  level  premium  companies  amounted  to  nearly  seven- 
teen hundred  and  fifty  millions,  while  the  payments  to  policy- 
holders  for  the  year,  including  losses,  dividends,  surrenders, 
etc.,  amounted  to  nearly  1 70  millions  of  dollars.  The  num- 
ber of  policies  in  force  was  over  143-  millions,  the  amount 
carried  in  them  being  over  8J  billion  dollars.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  assessment  companies  and  mutual  benefit  orders  had 
assets  of  more  than  36  millions  of  dollars,  paid  to  policy- 
holders  over  41  millions,  and  had  insurance  in  force  amounting 
to  over  4^  billions,  held  by  nearly  2-|  million  members.  The 
United  States  leads  all  countries  in  the  world  in  the  amount  of 
insurance  carried  by  its  people,  the  total  in  this  country  being 
nearly  13  billions;  in  Great  Britain,  nearly  4  billions  and  a 
quarter ;  in  Germany,  over  i  billion  300  millions,  and  in 
France,  about  700  millions. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

POVERTY. 

167.  References. 

C.  H.  Hubbard,  The  Why  of  Poverty ;  Charles  Booth,  Labour  and 
Life  of  the  People  ;  H  M.  Boies,  Prisoners  and  Paupers  ;  J.  A.  Hobson, 
Problems  of  Poverty  ;  A.  G.  Warner,  American  Charities  (1894);  Henry 
George,  Progress  and  Poverty ;  reports  of  State  Boards  of  Charity; 
United  States  Eleventh  Census  (1890),  Report  on  Crime,  Pauperism,  and 
Benevolence  (especially  §  169);  Helen  Campbell,  Prisoners  of  Poverty ; 
J.  A.  Riis,  Children  of  the  Poor;  Florence  Davenport  Hill  and  Fannie 
Fowke,  Children  of  the  State  ;  Helen  Campbell,  The  Child  and  the  Com- 
munity, in  Chautauquan,  IX.  458  (May,  1889) ;  National  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Corrections,  Proceedings  at  Twentieth  Conference  (Chicago, 
June,  1893;  Reports  on  Child-Saving  and  the  Public  Treatment  of  Pau- 
perism) ;  E.  C.  Wines,  State  of  Prisons  and  of  Child-Saving  Institutions  ; 
Charities  Review  (New  York) ;  Jane  Addams,  The  Subtle  Problems  of 
Charity,  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  LXXXIII.  163  (Feb.,  1899). 

168.   Causes  of  Poverty. 

With  all  the  opportunities  for  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  both 
for  the  nation  and  for  the  people  individually,  millions  have  little 
or  no  accumulation ;  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  poverty 
of  the  present  day  is  not  the  misery  of  the  past.  Present  pov- 
erty may  seem,  relatively,  more  intensified,  on  account  of  the 
increase  in  wealth  in  general ;  for  the  poor  man  makes  slower 
progress  out  of  his  poverty  than  the  man  with  some  accumula- 
tion out  of  straitened  circumstances.  Nevertheless,  consider- 
ing the  actual  conditions  of  life  on  the  poorest  scale  of  civil- 
ised life,  all  the  facts  point  to  the  conclusion  that  this  is  the 
age  most  favourable  to  the  poor. 

Many  of  the  causes  of  poverty  are  inherent  in  human  nature  ; 
the  most  frequent  and  most  hopeless  is  the  lack  of  ability  or 

322 


§168]  Causes  of  Poverty.  323 

equipment,  of  capacity  to  do  something  fairly  well.  A  smaller 
number  come  to  want  from  prodigality,  intemperance,  misfor- 
tunes of  various  kinds.  There  are  many  collateral  causes,  such 
as  refusal  to  work  when  work  is  offered,  or  the  lack  of  employ- 
ment when  one  is  willing  to  work,  or  the  ambition,  beyond 
one's  capacity  or  means,  to  rise  out  of  distasteful  environment, 
or  the  unequal  effects  of  accident,  or,  in  too  many  cases,  what 
may  be  called  sentimental  charity.  Intemperance  is  often  set 
forth  as  the  chief  cause  of  poverty,  and  it  undoubtedly  is  re- 
sponsible for  a  very  large  amount  of  suffering  and  want ;  yet  a 
careful  study  leads  one  to  the  conclusion  that  intemperance  is 
quite  as  often  the  result  of  poverty  as  poverty  the  result  of 
intemperance. 

The  industrial  system,  because  of  the  eager  demand  for 'skill 
and  intelligence,  often  crowds  the  incompetent  man  to  the 
wall  temporarily ;  for  competition  is  now  rather  mental  than 
physical,  and  the  man  who  cannot  comply  with  modern  de- 
mands for  mental  activity  becomes,  in  common  parlance,  a 
left-over  man.  Industry  has  developed  faster  than  the  individ- 
ual in  such  cases,  and  he  finds  it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
keep  up  with  the  progress.  The  life  of  the  ordinary  labourer 
prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  factory  was  almost  universally 
one  of  poverty.  Under  the  modern  system  the  life  of  the 
wage-earner  is  almost  universally,  especially  in  this  country, 
one  of  fair  comfort ;  certainly  he  does  not  live  in  such  squalor 
and  penury  as  that  of  his  predecessors. 

It  seems  a  paradox,  though  it  is  true,  that  wealth  makes  the 
community  seem  poor.  The  general  increase  of  intelligence 
is  such  that  people  recognise  the  degradation  of  a  poverty- 
stricken  community ;  most  people  to-day  have  a  keen  sense  of 
bad  conditions ;  and  the  growth  of  the  altruistic  sentiment,  the 
belief  that  the  strong  must  help  the  weak,  causes  poverty  to 
become  a  demoralising  stigma  on  a  community  where  it  exists. 
In  feudal  times  all  except  the  nobles  and  the  merchants 
lived  in  what  we  should  call  abject  poverty.  There  was  no 
opportunity  for  the  peasant  to  rise,  no  opportunity  to  acquire 


324  Poverty.  [§168 

property;  the  man  was  a  serf,  and  his  family  occupied  the 
position  of  the  children  of  serfs.  To-day  any  poor  man  with 
capacity  may  rise ;  in  fact,  if  he  has  capacity  he  will  not  live  in 
poverty.  So  that  to  be  very  poor  often  marks  the  man  who  can- 
not avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  rise  from  his  environ- 
ment. We  are  led  to  make  comparisons  unjust  to  the  present  by 
not  recognising  this  fact.  The  idea  that  poverty  belongs  to  or 
is  an  inevitable  accompaniment  of  industrial  prosperity  and  the 
accumulation  of  what  may  be,  in  general  terms,  called  riches,  is 
erroneous.  Civilisation  has  its  residuum,  but  without  civilisa- 
tion there  would  be  no  residuum,  because  no  nobler  element ; 
hence  the  higher  the  standard  of  civilised  communities  the 
more  apparent  and  the  more  abhorrent  does  poverty  become. 
The  study  of  sociology  in  its  broader  sense  goes  into  the  origin 
of  such  elements  in  society,  and  brings  out  the  lesson  that 
civilisation  is  not  responsible  for  poverty ;  that  if  it  cannot 
raise  all  above  the  old  level  of  helpless  want,  it  does  raise  many 
in  all  countries,  and  multitudes  in  America. 

169.   Pauperism  and  Relief. 

Poverty  means  a  state  of  partial  destitution.  It  is  hard  to 
be  without  the  things  which  one  wishes  to  have,  to  live  in  such 
straitened  circumstances  that  one  must  count  every  penny 
and  exercise  the  strictest  and  even  the  most  painful  frugality. 
Pauperism  is  or  should  be  a  destitution  so  great  that  life  is 
maintained  only  by  dependence  upon  others.  The  pauper, 
therefore,  is  the  ward  of  society,  or  of  benevolently  disposed 
friends.  The  public  everywhere  undertakes  to  relieve  pauper- 
ism, either  by  complete  support  or  through  partial  relief. 

There  is  much  controversy  over  the  question  as  to  whether 
the  number  of  paupers  in  any  given  community  tends  under 
modern  conditions  to  increase  or  to  decrease.  If  we  turn 
to  England  the  facts  are  very  apparent  that  during  the  past 
quarter  or  half  century  the  poor  budget  has  been  greatly 
diminished  relatively.  Pauperism  is  decreasing  in  a  marked 
degree.  As  is  shown  in  the  trustworthy  British  statistics,  the 


§  i69] 


Pauperism  and  Relief. 


325 


number  of  paupers,  indoor  and  outdoor,  exclusive  of  vagrants, 
in  receipt  of  relief  in  the  several  unions  and  parishes  under 
boards  of  guardians  in  England  and  Wales  on  January  i,  1895, 
was  817,431,  while  on  January  i,  1901,  the  number  was 
789,689,  an  actual  decrease.  In  Scotland  the  number  of 
poor  of  all  classes  in  parishes  in  receipt  of  relief  January 
15,  1897,  was  100,914,  but  in  January,  1901,  the  number  was 
100,819,  a  slight  decrease.'  In  Ireland,  for  the  same  years, 
the  totals  were  98,882  and  101,090  respectively. 

Our    Federal    statistics  relate    only  to   indoor  paupers,    as 
shown  in  the  following  table  : l 


Sex,  Nativity, 
and  Colour. 

Number  of  Indoor  Paupers. 

Ratios  to  1,000,000 
of  Population. 

1850. 

1860. 

1870. 

iSSo. 

1890. 

1850. 

1860. 

1870. 

1880. 

1890. 

Male    .     .     . 

35^64 

40,741 

1,394 

1,270 

Female     .     . 

30,639 

32,304 

1,244 

1,057 

Native  Born  . 

36,916 

50.483 

53,939 

43)236 

44,626 

1,765 

1,849 

1-635 

994 

836 

Foreign  Born 
White  .     .     . 

13.437 

32,459 

22,798 

67»337 
9,400 

22,967 

60,486 

S.7'7 

28,419 

66,578 
6,467 

5.9S6 

7,343 

4,095 

2,005 
1,928 

3,438 

',394 
847 

3,072 

1,211 

847 

Coloured  .     . 
Total     .     . 

50.353 

82,942 

76>737 

66,203 

73,045 

2,171 

2,638 

1.990 

1,320 

1,166 

In  later  censuses  there  has  been  a  transference  of  insane 
poor  and  some  other  classes  from  the  ranks  of  what  are  called 
indoor  paupers,  which  vitiates  in  some  degree  the  value  of  the 
foregoing  statistics ;  they  show,  however,  that  instead  of  a 
little  over  one  pauper  in  almshouses  to  each  five  hundred 
of  the  population  in  1850,  it  was  a  little  over  one  in  each 
thousand  in  1890. 

Another  large  class  of  persons  relieved  by  the  public  are  the 
outdoor  paupers,  most  of  whom  have  a  little  income  of  some 
sort,  or  a  subsidy  from  friends.  For  this  element  the  statistics 

1  No  data  have  been  collected  since  1890. 


326 


Poverty. 


[§  169 


for  Massachusetts  are  most  available,  and  offer  a  comparison 
for  the  longest  period  of  time.1 

1  AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  PAUPERS  PER  1000  OF  POPULATION  IN  THE 
CITIES  AND  TOWNS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  AT  THE  CENSUS  YEARS, 
1880-1900.  (From  Reports  of  Mass.  Board  of  Charities.) 


Years. 

Average 
Number  of 
Paupers  Fully 
Supported 
per  1000  of 
Population. 

Average 
Number  of 
Paupers  Par- 
tially Supported 
per  1000  of 
Population. 

Average 
total 
Number  of 
Paupers  Sup- 
ported per  1000 
of  Population. 

3.80 

1884-1885  

3-88 

2.88 

1889-1890  . 

3.85 

6.85 

8.  97 

1.28 

AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  INDOOR  POOR  PER  1000  OF  POPULATION   IN 
MASSACHUSETTS  AT  THE  CENSUS  YEARS,  1865-1900. 


Years. 

Number  of 
State  Poor 
in  Almshouses 
per  1000  of 
Population 
(including  insane). 

Number  of 
City  and  Town 
Poor  in  Alms- 
houses  per  looo 
of  Population 
(excluding  insane). 

1865   ...          ....              ... 

2  28 

1870  .          .... 

1.89 

187?   . 

!88o   .              .                   

j885        ...                   

1800  . 

1895   

1.80 

NUMBER  OF  STATE  AND  CITY  AND  TOWN  POOR  PARTIALLY  SUP- 
PORTED PER  looo  OF  POPULATION  IN  MASSACHUSETTS  AT  THE 
CENSUS  YEARS,  1880-1900. 


Aggregate 
Number  of  City 

Aggregate 
Number  of 

Aggregate 
Number  of 

and  Town  Poor 

State  Poor 

Cases  of  Va- 

Partially Sup- 

Partially Sup- 

grancy per 

ported  per  1000 

ported  per  looo 

1000  of 

of  Population. 

of  Population. 

Population. 

i88o        .          ... 

7.85 

86.46 

1885   

28.65 

8.75 

1890   

7-37 

69.81 

1895   

28.10 

7-51 

"5-49 

§  170]  Organised  Charities.  327 

From  one  point  of  view  the  Massachusetts  statements  are 
very  satisfactory.  The  proportion  of  the  State  poor  in  alms- 
houses,  and  also  of  city  and  town  poor  in  almshouses,  shows  a 
nearly  constant  decrease  from  1865  to  1901. 

The  partially  supported  or  outdoor  paupers  present  a  more 
serious  problem,  because  they  include  many  who  might  earn 
their  own  living  if  properly  directed,  and  a  good  number  of 
impostors;  the  reduction  in  this  class  is  most  encouraging, 
taking  the  two  categories  together.  The  total  average  number 
of  paupers  supported  per  one  thousand  of  the  population 
appears  to  have  dropped  from  13.8  in  1879-80  to  11.28  in 
1900-01.  Considering  the  imperfections  of  the  statistics, 
there  is  no  cause  for  rejoicing  in  this  exhibit.  An  actual 
decrease  is  shown  in  the  number  of  cases  of  vagrancy  per  one 
thousand,  but  the  conditions  of  vagrancy  are  peculiar;  some- 
times tramps  frequent  one  State  and  avoid  a  neighbouring 
State,  for  no  reason  known  to  cleanly  people,  except  that 
law  makes  it  dangerous  in  one  and  not  in  the  other. 

170.     Organised  Charities. 

In  all  large  cities  there  are  many  organisations,  especially 
churches  and  benevolent  associations,  having  for  their  object 
the  relief  of  persons  who  are  ostensibly  worthy  of  care,  and 
who  have  not  reached  the  condition  where  they  can  be  con- 
sidered as  paupers.  Great  abuses,  however,  grew  up  under 
this  method  of  almsgiving ;  for  there  is  a  class  of  professional 
malingerers,  who  seek  aid  of  various  societies  at  the  same  time, 
and  thus  secure  a  very  good  support,  and  even  a  comfortable 
income.  A  very  striking  illustration  of  this  occurred  in  an 
Eastern  city  a  few  years  ago,  where  a  man,  ostensibly  a  disabled 
soldier,  was  collecting  funds  to  enable  him  to  purchase  an 
artificial  leg.  A  gentleman  became  interested  in  his  case  and 
looked  up  his  history  and  experience,  and  found  that  he  had 
collected  over  $60,000  for  the  particular  purpose  named  in 
his  papers.  Such  abuses  have  led  to  the  system  usually  known 
as  "The  Associated  Charities,"  under  which  all  the  organisa- 


328  Poverty.  [§170 

tions  devoted  to  charity  agree  or  ought  to  agree  to  have  their 
prote'ge's  registered  under  one  central  head.  By  systematic 
visitation  and  inspection  many  of  the  old  abuses  have  been 
prevented,  and  it  is  the  aim  of  the  visitors  to  aid  the  needy  to 
find  ways  of  caring  for  themselves.  It  is  impossible  to  state 
the  amount  of  money  used  and  the  value  of  assistance  rendered 
by  the  charity  organisations  of  the  country,  but  it  must  be 
many  millions  of  dollars  annually. 

Of  late  years  it  has  been  questioned  whether  any  good  com- 
mensurate with  the  effort  is  being  accomplished  by  organisa- 
tions working  independently  of  the  Associated  Charities,  or 
by  indiscriminate  charity.  Beggary  prospers  chiefly  because 
it  is  profitable,  and  charity  organisations  to  some  extent  help 
to  perpetuate  the  evil.  Investigations  have  shown  that  a 
very  large  percentage  of  the  beggars  and  most  of  the  regu- 
lar tramps  are  such  from  choice  rather  than  from  necessity. 
Nevertheless,  the  charity  organisations  find  enough  to  do  among 
a  class  of  people  that  society  does  not  wish  to  have  become 
public  charges.  The  noblest  work  that  charity  has  to  do  is  to 
furnish  the  temporary  assistance  essential  to  bridge  over  misfor- 
tune and  restore  the  recipient  of  aid  to  self-supporting  condi- 
tions, and  in  this  direction  it  will  always  find  sufficient  activity. 
Simple  almsgiving  ought  never  to  be  the  purpose  of  charity 
organisations. 

There  are  many  who  believe  that  all  such  work  should  be 
conducted  by  the  State ;  that  instead  of  seeking  subscrip- 
tions from  individuals,  thus  levying  a  special  tax  upon  those 
who  are  generously  disposed,  the  property  of  the  entire  com- 
munity should  be  taxed  not  only  for  the  support  of  the  very 
reedy,  like  paupers,  but  for  the  assistance  of  those  who  are 
thrown  out  of  employment,  or  who  have  met  with  misfortune 
of  any  kind.  There  is  much  in  this  view,  so  far  as  justice  and 
equity  are  concerned,  but  the  sensibilities  of  the  people  will 
not  allow  certain  classes  of  needy  persons  to  become  the 
objects  of  public  charge  in  any  way.  As  already  stated,  under 
Compulsory  Insurance  (ch.  xiv.),  some  countries  are  endeavour- 


§171]  Child  Saving.  329 

ing  to  reduce  the  charity  charge  upon  the  public  through  the 
methods  of  insurance  against  sickness,  old  age,  etc.  The  ex- 
periment is  going  on ;  the  results  will  be  watched  with  great 
interest.  At  present  they  have  not  been  carried  to  such 
extent  as  to  warrant  a  positive  conclusion  as  to  the  better 
method  of  providing  assistance  for  the  needy. 

While  it  has  been  alleged  —  and  the  doctrine  is  generally 
accepted  —  that  indiscriminate  almsgiving  pauperises  not 
only  individuals  but  classes  of  individuals  in  the  community, 
this  is  in  no  sense  a  charge  against  altruism,  but  simply  indi- 
cates that  altruistic  action  should  be  undertaken  with  discre- 
tion, in  order  to  avoid  the  demoralisation  which  comes  from 
receiving  something  for  nothing.  When  a  great  number  of 
persons  are  fed  or  supported  at  public  expense,  or  even  given 
temporary  aid,  their  general  public  consciences  are  weakened, 
and  they  are  more  apt  to  seek  such  aid  when  the  circumstances 
do  not  really  warrant  its  bestowal. 

171.     Child  Saving. 

Perhaps  the  most  beneficent  purpose  which  any  organisation 
can  have  is  that  of  saving  children  from  a  lifetime  of  misery 
and  want  and  crime.  For  many  adult  persons  assistance  in 
any  form  can  do  but  little  good  beyond  the  temporary  relief 
of  necessities,  but  the  child  subjected  to  unhealthy  and  un- 
happy surroundings  may  be  saved,  and  its  life  turned  into 
honourable  and  self-supporting  conditions.  This  attractive 
form  of  benevolence  has  caused  societies  to  be  organised 
everywhere,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  child  out  of  a 
miserable  environment  into  a  moral  and  healthful  atmosphere. 

The  Societies  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children 
have  done  much  in  the  way  of  inducing  parents  to  treat  their 
offspring  tenderly,  while  other  organisations,  especially  the 
Children's  Aid  Societies,  take  them  out  of  the  slums  of  cities, 
give  them  the  benefits  of  good  care,  education,  and  fairly 
generous  treatment.  They  are  placed  on  farms  and  in  homes 
>vhere,  perhaps,  the  husband  and  wife  have  not  been  blessed 


330  Poverty.  [§171 

with  children,  and  thus  they  are  brought  into  contact  with 
those  who  will  see  that  their  lives  are  protected.  All  such 
measures  are  for  children  whose  tendencies  are  in  the  right 
direction ;  for  those  who  are  vicious  to  any  degree  public  re- 
form schools  have  been  established.  These  are  not  penal 
institutions  in  any  sense  :  yet  a  vicious  boy  or  girl  may  be 
sent  to  them  under  legal  processes  such  as  do  not  bring  that 
degradation  which  accompanies  a  sentence  to  a  prison.  In 
the  reform  schools  they  are  taught  to  work,  and  are  given  the 
rudiments  of  education.  When  the  time  comes  that  a  child 
sent  to  one  of  these  schools  is  able  to  go  out  into  the  world,  a 
place  is  found  for  him  where  he  may  support  himself  and  con- 
tinue a  life  of  regularity  and  responsibility.  Very  many  children 
are  thus  saved  and  brought  to  good  citizenship  rather  than  left 
in  their  old  surroundings,  where  the  tendencies  are  all  evil. 

The  inmates  of  juvenile  reformatories  in  the  United  States 
numbered  11,468  in  1880,  the  ratio  being  229  to  each  million  of 
the  population  ;  in  1890,  under  stricter  systems  of  supervision, 
the  number  was  14,846,  a  ratio  of  only  237.*  This  is  a  very 
satisfactory  showing,  not  only  on  account  of  the  small  absolute 
number  of  juvenile  offenders,  but  of  the  small  relative  increase. 

Homeless  children  have  been  the  subject  of  care  not  only 
through  private  benefactions,  but  through  public  effort,  and 
the  establishments  where  they  can  be  brought  and  secure 
many  of  the  amenities  of  home  life  are  numerous  and  their 
results  of  vast  magnitude  to  the  welfare  of  the  community. 
Kindergartens  are  doing  a  great  work  in  the  processes  of  child- 
saving,  as  pointed  out  under  the  discussion  of  kindergartens  as 
a  method  of  educating  very  young  children. 

All  these  institutions  relating  to  child-saving,  of  whatever 
character,  prevent  the  increase  of  the  criminal  and  pauper 
classes  and  are  an  honour  to  civilisation.  As  people  grow 
more  sensitive  in  such  matters,  the  benefits  are  increased  and 
a  still  larger  number  brought  under  their  influences.  The 
statistics  of  different  periods  therefore  show  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  the  present. 

1  No  data  collected  since  1890. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE   RELATION    OF   ART   TO    SOCIAL   WELL-BEING. 

172.    References. 

Isaac  Edwards  Clark,  Art  and  Industry  ;  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation, Report  (1885),  Parts  I.,  II.;  Benjamin  Butterworth,  The  Growth, 
of  Industrial  Art  (published  by  Act  of  Congress  of  March  3,  1886);  Rus 
kin,  Political  Economy  of  Art ;  Editorials  on  Public  Art  in  American  Cities, 
and  Popular  Art  in  Belgium,  in  Municipal  Affairs,  II.  I,  14  (March,  1898)1 
Marie  C.  Remick,  The  Relation  of  Art  to  Morality,  in  Arena,  XIX.  483 
( April,  1898) ;  Myra  B.  Martin,  Art  Education  in  American  Life,  \\\  Journal 
of  Social  Science,  XXX.  12  (October,  1892) ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  The  Prac- 
tical Value  of  Art,  in  Munsty's  Magazine,  XVII.  562  (July,  1897). 

173.    Art  and  Ethics. 

"  A  talent  for  any  art  is  rare ;  but  it  is  given  to  nearly  every 
one  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  art ;  only  it  must  be  cultivated 
with  earnestness.  The  more  things  thou  learnest  to  know  and 
to  enjoy,  the  more  complete  and  full  will  be  for  thee  the 
delight  of  living."  So  speaks  the  German  artist- poet  Platen  ; 
this  sentence  gives  the  gist  of  the  whole  discussion  of  the 
relation  of  art  to  social  well-being.  Well-being  may  be 
defined  as  a  state  of  life  which  secures,  or  tends  toward, 
happiness  ;  it  comprehends  physical  as  well  as  moral  welfare. 
Social  well-being,  therefore,  means  a  state  of  life  which  best 
fits  one  for  society,  for  companionship  with  one's  fellows. 
Friendly  relations  must  be  regarded,  and  all  the  fine  instincts 
of  men  subserved,  as  also  their  capacity,  not  merely  to  enjoy 
themselves  in  high  and  pure  ways,  but  to  bring  the  highest 
and  purest  enjoyment  to  those  with  whom  they  mingle.  In 
other  words,  social  well-being  means  .social  morality,  and  this 
can  be  secured  only  by  the  practice  of  the  purest  ethics,  the 
laws  of  right  living. 

331 


332  Art  and  Social  Well-being.          [§173 

So  the  relation  of  art  to  social  well-being  resolves  itself  at 
once  into  certain  simple  questions.  Does  art,  in  any  of  its 
forms,  stimulate  ethical  conduct?  Does  it  induce  the  moral 
state  that  is  essential  to  happy  relations  in  society?  Does  it 
awaken  slumbering  possibilities?  Does  it  induce  intellectual 
activity?  Does  it  bring  members  of  society  to  realise  that  deep, 
true  religious  life,  which,  after  all,  concerns  happiness  more 
than  any  other  one  element,  by  teaching  love  to  our  neighbours, 
by  making  sacrifice  easy,  by  stirring  the  soul  to  the  loftiest 
contemplation  of  creative  power?  Do  Raphael's  Madonnas 
inspire  right  motives?  Does  the  Robert  Shaw  monument 
tend  to  make  heroes?  Is  the  great  Liberty  statue  in  New 
York  harbour  an  aid  to  upright  democracy?  In  short,  does 
art  help  to  make  the  true  man  and  the  true  woman? 

These  questions  must  be  considered  from  a  sociological 
standpoint,  comprehending  the  whole  range  of  art  as  it  centres 
into  the  industries  and  the  amenities  of  life.  We  must  keep 
in  view  the  idea  that  it  is  in  man's  spiritual  nature,  as  it  is 
now  expressing  itself  in  his  social  activities,  that  the  true  rela- 
tion of  art  to  social  well-being  is  to  be  found ;  for  we  must 
conclude  that  art  has  its  positive  influence  not  only  in  devel- 
oping character,  but  in  making  life  sweeter,  better,  and  more 
useful. 

174.     Art  and  Industry. 

This  influence  is  shown,  too,  in  the  application  of  art  to 
industry.  It  is  there  that  we  recognise  the  power  of  the 
industrial  arts  in  fitting  men  for  social  relationship.  The 
average  life  is  influenced  quite  as  much  by  the  industrial  arts 
as  by  any  of  the  creations  of  purely  artistic  genius ;  the  genius 
of  production  makes  itself  felt  in  pretty  calicoes,  neat  oil- 
cloths, and  companionable  paper-hangings;  in  fact,  in  the 
ordinary,  every-day  energy  which  animates  the  great  manu- 
facturing, mechanical,  and  engineering  pursuits,  there  is  an 
embodiment  of  the  highest  genius,  which  has  a  moral  influ- 
ence, and  at  times  something  even  beyond  this,  — an  influence 
that  may  be  called  religious  in  its  bearing. 


§174]  Industry.  333 

One  need  not  discuss  the  distinctions  of  creative  or  imagi- 
native art,  for  all  things  in  art  which  in  any  sense  stimulate 
innocent  emotion  are  good  in  themselves  and  beneficial  in 
their  influences,  whether  an  etching  of  Whistler's,  or  "  A  Yard 
of  Roses."  There  is  nothing  progressive  that  does  not  come 
from  some  form  of  art,  or  from  some  expression  of  the  crea- 
tive power. 

Every  work  of  creative  art  is  a  revelation  of  divine  beauty  ; 
hence  it  is  of  the  deepest  significance  to  religion,  and  to  every 
element  of  social  well-being.  Even  the  lowest  forms  of 
artistic  expression,  so  long  as  they  embody  art  ideas  at  all,  are 
beneficial.  Especially  among  the  common  people  is  this  true. 
The  cheap  prints  that  adorn  the  humblest  homes,  even  the 
rude  portraits  cut  from  newspapers,  have  an  uplifting  influence, 
and  must  be  considered  as  positive  evidence  of  the  existence 
of  an  aspiration  to  something  better. 

The  line  of  march  from  savage  existence  to  civilised  life  is 
marked  all  along  the  way  with  progressive  developments  of 
art  ideas.  When  the  savage  adorns  himself  with  ornaments, 
no  matter  how  crude,  even  to  the  tattooed  painting  of  the 
most  barbarous  man,  he  is  giving  evidence  of  an  aspiration 
after  the  beautiful.  The  deer  and  mammoth  of  the  cave- 
dweller  incised  on  his  uncracked  marrow-bone  show  that  he 
took  delight  in  trying  to  represent  the  movements  of  animals. 
No  matter  how  rude  or  ugly  his  work  may  appear  to  the 
cultivated  taste,  to  the  savage  it  is  art  and  beauty,  and  he 
fancies  that  he  is  making  himself  more  presentable,  more 
attractive,  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellows.  It  is  the  infantile  expres- 
sion of  the  inherent  love  of  art,  and  we  find  the  foundation  of 
all  art  and  of  all  language  when  the  savage  expresses  his  feel- 
ings through  the  adornment  of  his  person,  the  colours  of  his 
coarse  blanket,  the  pictures  on  the  bark  walls  of  his  hut,  or 
the  ornamentation  upon  the  head  of  his  weapon. 

These  expressions  of  the  savage  take  the  form  of  industrial 
as  well  as  of  creative  art.  Advancing  along  the  line  of 
dawning  civilisation,  we  find  crude  images  of  the  individual, 


334          Art  and  Social  Well-being.  [§174 

made,  perhaps,  to  serve  as  reminders  of  friends,  or  to  per- 
petuate the  conceited  barbarian's  idea  of  his  own  physical 
perfection.  Music,  too,  the  purest  of  all  fine  arts,  has  its 
beginning  in  the  same  natural  instinct. 

175.    Art  and  the  People. 

Cheap  reproductions  of  works  of  art  help  to  educate  and  beau- 
tify the  lives  of  the  masses  of  the  people.  The  writer  happened 
once  in  a  car  to  sit  beside  a  girl  whose  coarse  clothing  and 
rough  hands  indicated  that  she  came  from  the  shops.  Her 
whole  attention,  however,  was  engaged  in  studying  a  popular 
magazine,  and  it  was  impossible  to  refrain  from  watching  her 
face  and  learning  the  subject  which  was  attracting  her;  she 
was  reading  an  article  relative  to  some  of  the  great  works  of 
our  best  artists,  and  studying  the  engravings  which  accompanied 
it.  At  the  cost  of  a  dime,  she  was  bringing  into  her  life,  at  the 
close  of  her  day's  labour,  the  company  of  the  world's  greatest 
artistic  geniuses.  She  was  forgetting  her  hard  lot,  and  drink- 
ing in  some  of  the  inspiration  which  enables  the  artist  to  bring 
forth  his  highest  creation ;  she  was  ennobling  her  own  mind  by 
the  ennobling  influences  of  the  work  of  others ;  she  was  fitting 
herself  to  insist  that  in  her  own  home  surroundings  there  should 
be  something  to  cheer,  to  attract,  and  to  inspire ;  and  could 
she  have  been  followed  to  that  home,  there  would  have  been 
found  some  evidences  of  art  production,  cheap  and  possibly 
common,  but  nevertheless  a  sure  indication  of  the  existence, 
in  her  own  soul,  of  an  aspiration  after  something  higher  than 
the  drudgery  which  she  was  compelled  to  follow. 

How  far  the  appreciation  of  architecture  may  be  developed, 
is  shown  by  the  little  boy  who  was  told  of  some  of  the  fine 
buildings  in  foreign  countries.  «  Oh,  I  know  just  how  they 
look,"  said  he  ;  "  tell  me  about  the  folks."  It  was  a  fact  that 
he  already  knew  the  beauty  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament ;  he 
knew  the  shape  and  form  of  St.  Paul's  and  Notre  Dame ;  he 
knew  the  Rialto  and  the  palaces  of  Venice.  This  knowledge 
of  the  architecture  of  the  world  had  come  to  him  through 


§i75]  Popular  Art.  335 

cheap  reproductions,  the  results  of  an  inventive  art  which 
brings  to  the  commonest  understanding  the  beauties  of  the 
world. 

Another  example  shows  the  commercial  value  of  a  beautiful 
form  in  the  commonest  things.  A  few  years  ago,  a  stove 
manufacturer  paid  a  well-known  sculptor  five  thousand  dollars 
to  design  a  kitchen  stove ;  he  was  obliged  to  meet  the  popular 
demand  in  the  production  of  his  goods,  and  found  that  his 
stoves  must  be  of  a  pattern  that  would  not  offend  the  eye  of 
the  day  labourer.  It  was  a  striking  evidence  of  the  growth  of 
artistic  taste  among  the  masses  of  our  people. 

In  foreign  countries  the  national  and  the  municipal  govern- 
ments spend  great  sums  in  erecting  things  of  beauty,  —  statues 
of  celebrated  men,  public  buildings  decorated  with  costly  de- 
signs. Cities  like  Nuremberg  and  Genoa  take  pride  in  their 
beautiful  mediaeval  buildings,  and  try  to  make  new  structures 
conform  to  the  old.  A  dealer  in  electric  goods  in  Germany 
was  refused  permission  to  put  a  bracket  to  hold  a  wire  on  a 
certain  building  because  his  bracket  was  in  the  Renaissance 
style  and  the  building  was  Gothic.  In  the  United  States,  gov- 
ernments rarely  interfere  with  private  architecture,  but  in  their 
public  buildings  they  shape  public  taste  for  something  beyond 
the  carpenter's  architecture  which  we  find  in  rural  regions,  or 
the  plain  painting  of  the  ordinary  building.  It  teaches  us  to 
demand  that  our  libraries,  capitols,  public  halls,  and  churches 
shall  be  works  of  art.  If  one  result  is  seen  in  the  monotonous 
domed  State  capitols,  on  the  model  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington, 
another  result  is  seen  in  such  structures  as  the  Boston  Pub- 
lic Library,  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery,  the  county  buildings  of 
Pittsburg,  and  that  most  magnificent  of  all  buildings  of  its  kind 
in  this  or  any  land,  the  new  Congressional  Library  at  Washing- 
ton. It  is  such  examples  that  make  the  common  man  insist 
that  if  he  is  to  purchase  a  kitchen  stove,  it  shall  be  artistic. 


336  Art  and  Social  Well-being.          [§176 

176.    Art  and  Social  Unrest. 

The  "  common  man  "  is  a  frequent  character  in  these  pages, 
because  the  social  unrest  of  the  present  time  hinges  upon  this 
very  development  of  the  masses  through  the  presence  of  educa- 
tional forces,  among  which  we  must  reckon  art  in  every  form, 
including  music.  The  demands  of  the  wage-earner  of  to-day 
are  not  for  subsistence  only,  as  formerly  ;  but  through  the  in- 
fluence of  civilisation,  as  represented  by  education,  as  stimulated 
by  invention,  as  fostered  by  art,  the  demand  is  for  spiritualising 
influences  beyond  and  above  the  mere  necessaries  of  existence. 

It  is  this  demand,  more  than  any  other  cause,  which  brings 
the  social  unrest  or  the  discontent  of  the  present  time.  A  wise 
Providence  makes  none  of  us  content  with  our  condition. 
Safety  is  to  be  found  only  through  the  knowledge  that  we  are 
going  forward,  that  we  are  progressing,  that  we  possess  higher 
aspirations.  Discontent  means  the  desire  for  higher  things,  it 
means  the  growing  demands  of  labour,  it  means,  the  moving 
spirit  of  progress  everywhere.  Without:  it  the  world  would 
stand  still ;  with  it  the  world  moves  on,  and  humanity  is  ever 
securing  higher  and  nobler  standards  of  living.  The  boys  and 
girls  in  the  cottages  of  the  country  people  who  hear  of  the 
triumphs  of  architecture,  or  of  the  world  of  art,  become  restless 
and,  in  a  sense,  discontented.  So  some  pessimist,  who  sees 
no  utility  in  art  beyond  its  commercial  value,  who  loves  not 
music  and  the  beautiful,  may  ask,  "  Do  not  these  aspirations 
result  in  unhappiness,  in  the  reverse  of  social  well-being,  in 
dangerous  discontent?  "  No  ;  it  is  a  divine  discontent,  broad- 
ening all  the  attributes  of  man,  fitting  him  for  better  and  greater 
achievements,  and  bringing  him  out  of  a  contentment  which 
simply  means  inaction  and  inertness ;  it  is  such  discontent  as 
drove  the  Greeks  to  stretch  to  the  utmost  the  artistic  powers 
of  the  human  mind,  so  that  they  might  surpass  all  the  former 
works  of  their  own  race  ;  it  was  such  discontent  that  made 
mediaeval  man  pull  down  his  old  churches  and  build  the  splen- 
did cathedrals. 


§177]  Unrest  —  Invention.  337 

Life  is  better  with  these  things,  even  from  the  utilitarian 
point  of  view,  for  they  stimulate  industry,  and  industry  and 
poverty  are  seldom  yokefellows.  They  stimulate  employment 
of  the  mind,  which  is  an  essential  to  good  morals.  They  foster 
the  very  best  elements  of  a  moral  community,  by  awakening  the 
desire  for  the  highest  kind  of  employment,  —  that  requiring 
the  most  application,  the  best  intellectual  effort.  If  it  were  not 
so,  continued  employment  at  crude,  muscular  labor  would  be 
the  very  best  for  mankind.  Something  spiritual  must  enter 
into  our  every- day  life,  or  we  are  savages. 

When  Mr.  Pullman  built  the  town  named  after  him,  now  a 
part  of  Chicago,  he  beautified  the  place  with  parks  and  artistic 
surroundings.  When  asked  if  he  proposed  to  help  his  tenants 
in  the  adornment  of  their  dwellings,  he  said,  "  No  ;  if  a  family 
moves  in  with  old,  tumble-down  furniture,  they  soon  see  the 
incongruity  of  their  house  adornments  in  comparison  with  the 
adornments  around  them  ;  and,"  he  went  on,  "  I  have  noticed 
that  soon  they  begin  to  arrange  their  affairs  in  harmony  with 
the  place  itself."  By  this  means  his  employees  and  their  fami- 
lies were  trained  to  an  appreciation  of  artistic  things,  and  were 
enabled  to  live  cleaner  and  more  wholesome  lives. 

177.    Art  in  Invention. 

Invention  and  the  development  of  the  industrial  arts  have 
raised  those  coming  under  their  influence  to  a  higher  intellec- 
tual level,  to  a  more  comprehensive  understanding  of  all  that 
makes  for  the  best  culture.  Every  new  machine  marks  some 
progress  in  useful  art,  and  it  usually  embodies  something  more 
than  mere  utility.  There  is  a  beauty  in  the  rhythmic  move- 
ment of  great  forces  in  harness  that  has  a  reflex  action  upon 
the  beholder ;  for  there  is  nothing  more  impressive  than  the 
sight  of  mighty  mechanical  constructions.  The  engines  of  a 
great  mine  have  some  of  the  same  effect  of  prodigious  might 
which  one  feels  at  Niagara.  The  highest  creative  art  enters 
into  such  constructions,  —  not  the  art,  it  may  be,  that  paints 
a  grand  picture  or  decorates  a  cathedral,  but  an  art  that  be- 


338  Art  and  Social  Well-being.  [§177 

speaks  no  less  clearly  the  divine  attributes  of  the  mind  that 
conceived  it.  A  ten-thousand-ton  steamship,  a  tenth  of  a 
mile  in  length,  moving  over  and  through  the  water,  is  an  ex- 
ample of  what  is  meant.  When  we  behold  it,  we  are  taught 
something  of  omnipotent  power,  of  the  all-pervading  intel- 
ligence which  swings  the  planets  through  their  orbits  ;  we  have 
s.  better  realisation  of  the  supreme  mechanism  of  the  universe, 
for  we  witness  the  working  of  laws  that  have  been  compre- 
hended and  applied.  One  modern  poet,  Rudyard  Kipling, 
has  understood  the  intellectual  force  of  great  engines,  and  he 
makes  wood,  steel,  and  steam  chant  symphonies. 

A  few  years  ago,  after  Walter  Smith  had  been  applying  his 
art  principles  in  this  country,  there  appeared  in  the  shop  win- 
dows of  some  of  our  Eastern  cities  a  display  of  novel  designs 
in  carpets,  and  the  proprietor,  on  being  asked  whence  they 
came,  stated  that  they  were  from  some  of  the  American 
schools  of  design.  Here,  again,  artistic  development  had 
accomplished  something  toward  beautifying  the  homes  of  the 
common  people.  The  rich  can  always  secure  the  very  best 
and  most  beautiful  coverings  for  their  floors.  The  poor  desire 
to  imitate  the  rich,  but  for  them  there  must  be  designs  worked 
out  in  such  a  way  that  they  can  be  obtained  at  a  reasonable 
price.  An4  this  is  not  the  only  benefit  of  such  an  industrial 
departure ;  people  engaged  in  artistic  manufactures  are  em- 
ployed in  occupations  of  a  higher  grade ;  their  wages  are 
increased  ;  their  standard  of  living  is  raised  proportionately, 
and  their  social  well-being  is  enhanced. 

If  industry  to-day  had  nothing  more  to  do  than  the  fur- 
nishing of  the  simple  necessaries  of  human  life  it  would  have 
little  field  for  expansion,  and  would  offer  meagre  opportunities 
for  employment.  Life  would  be  a  burden,  so  dull  and  mono- 
tonous would  it  be.  Trade,  as  we  understand  it,  would  cease, 
and  commerce  become  a  thing  practically  unknown.  But  in- 
dustry flourishes  because  it  is  not  limited  to  the  production  of 
things  that  are  needed  for  food,  raiment,  and  shelter.  It  is 
because  art  has  come  in  to  increase  the  wants  of  the  race  that 


§178]  A  Source  of  Wealth.  339 

trade  and  commerce  flourish.  Art  carries  industry  beyond 
our  actual  wants,  and  calls  upon  it  to  supply  those  things  which 
make  for  social  progress.  The  future  expansion  of  industry 
and  of  commerce,  the  future  elevation  in  the  character  of  the 
employment  of  all  classes,  the  increase  of  their  earning  capa- 
city, the  opportunity  of  increasing  the  standard  of  their  envi- 
ronment, —  all  these  depend  upon  the  cultivation  of  the 
industrial  arts. 

178.    Art  as  a  Source  of  Wealth. 

Looking  beyond  this,  industrial  art  is  a  source  of  wealth. 
Fine  art  itself  is  a  wealth  producer.  The  payment  of  ten  or 
fifty  thousand  dollars  for  a  painting  enriches  the  community  in 
which  the  artist  lives.  There  has  been  something  added  in 
the  way  of  treasure  to  a  country's  assets  by  the  productions 
of  its  artistic  genius.  The  very  presence  of  great  pictures  is 
a  local  benefit.  Take  the  Sistine  Madonna  from  Dresden,  rob 
Paris  of  the  Louvre,  despoil  London  of  its  National  Gallery  or 
Antwerp  of  its  Rubens  collection,  take  the  Art  Museum  out 
of  Boston,  destroy  the  galleries  which  are  growing  up  so  richly 
in  our  Western  cities,  and  we  have  depreciated  the  commercial 
value  of  all  these  places  far  beyond  the  selling  price  of 
the  pictures.  ' 

Industrial  art  and  a  thorough  appreciation  of  the  fine  arts 
enable  the  community  that  cultivates  them  to  compete  suc- 
•  cessfully  with  the  community  that  neglects  them.  All  these 
things  —  the  expansion  of  industry,  the  commercial  import- 
ance of  art,  the  knowledge  of  its  real  value  —  certainly  con- 
tribute, and  largely,  too,  to  the  well-being  of  the  individual. 
The  rich,  by  their  generous  contributions  in  establishing  art 
galleries,  are  doing  something  more  than  building  monuments 
to  themselves ;  they  are  offering  to  the  poor  man  the  means 
of  improving  the  leisure  earned  by  his  hard  labour,  and  giving 
him  an  opportunity  to  find  cultured  occupation. 


34°  Art  and  Social  Well-being.          [§179 

179.     Public  Art. 

The  action  of  municipal  governments  in  the  establishment 
of  parks,  museums,  libraries,  and  in  providing  public  concerts 
are  all  efforts  in  the  direction  of  the  cultivation  of  artistic  taste. 
These  things  are  provided  for  the  poorest  citizen ;  every  per- 
son may  enjoy  them ;  they  are  public  property,  and  the  public 
holds  the  title.  The  advance  which  a  city  or  a  town  has  made 
in  the  highest  artistic  sense  can  be  gauged  by  its  parks  and 
museums,  while  its  appreciation  of  those  means  which  make 
for  the  best  intellectual  attainment  can  be  gauged  by  its  libra- 
ries. The  establishment  of  these  things  may  have  a  socialistic 
tendency,  but  they  are  for  the  good  of  all ;  and  whatever  there 
is  of  socialism  connected  with  them  does  not  weaken  indi- 
vidual effort  or  the  desire  to  succeed  as  an  individual.  They 
are  the  most  potent  educators  which  can  be  provided  by  the 
public  for  itself.  The  schools  accomplish  one  thing ;  the 
works  of  beauty  and  of  art,  which  are  accessible  to  all,  accom- 
plish another.  Tastes  are  refined,  the  best  feelings  are  stimu- 
lated, and  a  loyal  affection  for  public  institutions  created. 
The  lives  and  sacrifices  of  men  who  have  worked  for  the  wel- 
fare of  their  kind  are  made  daily  and  constant  lessons  to  all 
observers.  These  things  supplement  and  oftentimes  are  more 
powerful  than  the  school  in  stimulating  intellectual  endeavour. 

In  the  old  countries  the  public  galleries  of  art  have  been  of 
positive  economic  value ;  they  teach  history,  they  illustrate 
romance,  they  embody  religious  inspiration.  We  are  lacking 
in  public  art  galleries  in  this  country.  There  are  a  few,  and  as 
a  rule  they  are  not  free ;  nevertheless,  their  influence  cannot 
be  calculated.  They  offer  healthful  recreation  of  the  highest 
character,  and  when  the  common  people  can  have  free  access 
to  them  on  all  days  of  the  week  their  influence  will  be  far 
greater  than  at  present.  The  man  who  works  six  days  is  en- 
titled on  the  seventh  to  the  highest  things  which  his  desires 
demand.  The  open  parks,  museums,  and  libraries,  may  be 
the  places  where  such  a  one  can  be  brought  in  contact  with 


§180]  Effect  of  Ugliness.  341 

the  very  best  works  of  man  and  the  most  beautiful  of  nature. 
He  may  be  too  weary  to  sit  through  a  service  ;  but  if  he  can 
peaceably  occupy  a  place  in  a  beautiful  public  park,  listen  to 
excellent  music,  visit  a  museum,  or  have  access  to  works  in  a 
public  library,  he  may  thus  avoid  those  places  whose  tenden- 
cies are  evil  and  only  evil. 

The  tendency  of  civilisation  to-day,  as  men  understand 
more  what  the  development  of  society  means,  and  are  aware 
of  the  struggle  which  it  has  made  to  secure  present  develop- 
ment, is  to  open  everything  good  at  all  reasonable  times  and 
on  all  days,  and  close  everything  that  is  bad  all  the  time.  The 
moral  nature  of  man  needs  encouragement,  and  it  can  be  en- 
couraged by  opening  to  him  opportunities  for  the  cultivation 
not  only  of  his  latent  artistic  tastes,  but  of  his  latent  spiritual 

nature. 

180.  The  Effect  of  Ugliness. 

There  is  a  reverse  side  to  all  this.  If  the  sight  of  beautiful 
things  is  a  stimulus,  the  habitual  presence  of  foul  and  ill- 
shapen  things  is  degrading.  One  of  the  mathematical  studies 
in  "Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland"  was  "  Uglification 
and  Derision."  The  process  of  "  uglifying,"  especially  in  this 
country,  goes  on  steadily,  through  the  construction  of  unsightly 
roads,  streets,  railways,  telegraph  appliances,  and  signs.  Noth- 
ing is  more  hopelessly  ugly,  stupefying,  and  repulsive  than  a 
bank  of  earth,  especially  when  disfigured  with  old  cans  or 
surfaced  with  cinders.  Nature  herself  has  such  a  prejudice 
against  mere  dirt  that  she  covers  with  green  any  slope  that 
will  hold  grass ;  but  men  often  leave  railway  cuttings  and  em- 
bankments irregular,  ungrassed  slopes,  although  in  recent  years, 
following  European  customs,  much  has  been  done  to  beautify 
the  surroundings  of  stations,  and  prizes  are  often  offered  for 
the  most  artistic  display  of  flowers  and  arrangement  of  grounds. 
Telegraph  wires  may  be  a  picturesque  element  in  a  landscape, 
but  the  confused  tangle  which  disfigures  many  cities  and  towns 
is  nothing  but  Uglification.  Dirty  streets  are  not  only  very  in- 
artistic, but  they  strike  at  the  foundation  of  morality,  for  they 


34 2  Art  and  Social  Well-being.          [§  180 

violate  the  principles  of  order  and  cleanliness.  No  public 
service  is  more  important  than  that  performed  in  some  coun- 
try places  by  "  village  improvement  societies,"  through  whose 
efforts  the  tidying  up  of  the  public  highways  in  their  near 
neighbourhood  is  secured ;  they  interest  the  public  in  setting 
out  shade  and  ornamental  trees,  and  thus  bring  beauty  and 
order  where  ugliness  and  disorder  prevailed.  The  artistic 
sense  of  the  people  is  often  offended  by  the  modern  custom 
of  painting  signs  on  fences,  buildings,  and  rocks,  and  no  mat- 
ter how  picturesque  the  advertisement  may  be,  it  mars  the 
beauty  of  the  scenery.  The  putting  of  all  telegraph,  fire,  and 
telephone  wires  underground,  the  adornment  of  streets  and 
highways,  the  beautifying  of  the  surroundings  of  railway 
stations,  are  all  adjuncts  in  the  way  of  removing  crude  ugliness, 
and  have  great  influence  in  developing  the  aesthetic  taste  of 
the  people. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

ARE   THE   RICH   GROWING   RICHER  AND   THE   POOR 
POORER  ? 

181.  References. 

United  States  Eleventh  Census,  Report  on  Wealth,  Debt,  and  Taxation  ; 
Senate  Committee  on  Finance,  Report  on  Wholesale  Prices,  Wages,  and 
Transportation,  in  Senate  Reports,  520!  Congress,  2d  session,  No.  1394; 
Alfred  Marshall,  Principles  of  Economics  (ed.  1890),  182;  Massachusetts 
Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour,  Sixteenth  Annual  Report  (1885),  Pal"ts 
III.,  \\ . ;  Alex.  Wylie,  Labour,  Leisure,  and  Luxury  ;  Abraham  Lincoln, 
Works,  II.  502  (speech  to  workingmen) ;  Charles  B.  Spahr,  The  Present 
Distribution  of  Wealth  in  the  United  States  ;  Freeman  Otis  Willey,  The 
Laborer  and  the  Capitalist,  Part  II.  ch.  iii. ;  Veblen,  Thorstein,  The  Theory 
of  the  Leisure  Class;  Fairchild,  G.  T.,  Rural  Wealth  and  Welfare ;  Ferris, 
Alfred  J.,  Pauperizing  the  Rich  ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Are  the  Rich  Grow- 
ing Richer  and  the  Poor  Poorer  ?  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  LXXX.  300  (Sept., 
1897);  The  Concentration  of  Wealth  (a  symposium),  in  the  Independent 
(May  i,  1902). 

182.    Industry  and  "Wealth. 

The  consideration  of  the  various  features  which  relate  to 
social  well-being  —  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  artistic  sense,  and  the  poverty  and  pauperism 
which  accompany  the  evolution  of  society  —  leads  to  the 
query  whether,  as  is  often  asserted,  the  rich  are  really  growing 
richer  and  the  poor  poorer.  The  position  is  often  taken  that 
under  our  modern  system  of  industry  vast  fortunes  are  accumu- 
lated at  the  expense  of  the  relatively  poor,  but  such  assertions 
are  made  without  a  philosophical  understanding  of  what  in- 
dustry really  is.  To  paraphrase  an  expression  of  Reybaud,  in 
his  "  Le  Coton,"  it  is  a  sad  law,  perhaps,  but  an  invariable  one, 
that  industry  in  its  march  takes  no  account  of  the  positions  it 
overturns  nor  of  the  distinctions  it  modifies.  We  must  keep 
step  with  its  progress  or  be  left  upon  the  road.  It  always  ac- 
complishes its  work,  which  is  to  make  better  goods  at  a  lower 

343 


344  Rich  and  Poor.  [§  182 

price,  to  supply  more  wants,  and  also  those  of  a  better  order, 
and  to  secure  for  men  greater  comforts  and  conveniences,  not 
with  regard  for  any  class,  but  having  in  view  the  whole  human 
race.  Industry  is  this,  or  it  is  not  industry.  True  to  its  in- 
stincts, it  has  no  sentiment,  unless  it  is  for  its  own  interest ;  and 
yet  such  is  the  harmony  of  things  when  they  are  abandoned 
to  their  natural  course,  notwithstanding  the  selfishness  of  indus- 
try directed  to  its  own  good,  that  it  turns  finally  to  secure  the 
good  of  all,  and  while  requiring  service  for  itself,  it  serves  others 
at  the  same  time  by  virtue  of  its  resources  and  its  power. 
This  "  law  "  is  then  only  a  restatement  of  the  familiar  principle 
that  in  industry  a  man  cannot  benefit  himself  without  also 
giving  other  people  a  chance  to  benefit  themselves.  The 
sewing-machine  manufacturers  made  an  immense  fortune,  but 
the  machine  added  to  the  resources  of  every  purchaser  of  a 
machine  and  of  every  buyer  of  clothing. 

An  examination  of  wages,  the  standard  of  living,  the  work- 
ing time,  cost  of  living,  education,  the  interest  in  religion, 
literature,  art,  and  all  things  concerning  the  common  man, 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  industrial  situation  has  more 
to  do  with  social  conditions  than  has  any  other  factor.  The 
complex  organisation  of  industry  contains  in  itself  the  moral, 
intellectual,  psychological,  and  physiological  elements,  which 
are  the  essential  factors  of  human  life,  and  so  the  most  essen- 
tial factors  in  ethics  and  in  social  organisms.  Here,  then,  we 
must  look  for  the  chief  elements  which  result  in  social  unrest 
as  well  as  in  social  well-being. 

The  alleged  causes  of  unrest,  taken  together,  make  a  kalei- 
doscopic mass,  ever  shifting  with  every  turn  of  industrial  status, 
one  colour  predominating,  and  then  another.  Two  centuries 
ago  the  farmers  were  the  best-recompensed  class  in  the  coun- 
try ;  a  century  ago  it  was  the  shipowners ;  now  it  is  the  manu- 
facturers. It  is  but  natural,  then,  that  men  assert  at  times  that 
the  industrial  system  offers  opportunities  for  the  exploitation 
of  one  class  for  the  benefit  of  another,  and  out  of  this  attitude 
grows  the  assertion  that  the  rich  are  growing  richer  and  the  poor 


§  183]  Wealth  not  Stationary.  345 

poorer,  —  an  assertion  which  for  some  reason  has  taken  very 
complete  possession  of  the  popular  mind.  The  doctrine  is  a 
false  one,  false  in  its  premises  and  misleading  in  its  influence ; 
for  it  has  so  deceived  the  people  as  to  develop  a  sharp  and 
growing  antagonism  between  those  who  do  not  prosper  to  the 
extent  of  their  ambition  and  those  who  have  carried  the  accu- 
mulation of  wealth  far  beyond  the  reasonable  ambition  of  any 
man.  It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  no  lack  in  the  pro- 
duction of  useful  and  necessary  things ;  it  may  be  held,  how- 
ever, that  there  is  an  inequality  in  the  distribution  of  the 
products  of  industry,  and  upon  an  analysis  of  the  various  dis- 
cussions which  have  been  put  forth,  it  is  easily  seen  that  it  is 
this  question  of  distribution  which  affects  the  popular  mind. 
From  any  point  of  view,  it  must  be  held  legitimate  to  question 
the  justice  of  the  distribution  of  wealth. 

183.    "Wealth  not  Stationary. 

We  need  not  attempt  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  assertion 
under  consideration ;  it  is  a  wandering  phrase,  without  pater- 
nity or  date  ;  it  is  not  authority  but  familiarity  that  has  given 
it  weight.  To  very  many  persons,  who  consider  only  one  side 
of  a  proposition,  it  expresses  the  whole  truth ;  to  others,  who 
examine  superficially  ethical  and  economical  questions,  it  has 
some  truth  ;  to  the  investigator,  who  cares  only  for  the  truth 
itself,  it  is  as  a  whole  untrue,  while  one-half  is  true.  To  the 
investigator  the  real  statement  should  be,  The  rich  are  growing 
richer ;  many  more  people  than  formerly  are  growing  rich ;  and 
the  poor  are  growing  better  off.  If  the  sum  total  of  wealth 
were  stationary,  any  increase  in  the  wealth  of  the  rich  would 
be  an  exploitation  of  the  poor,  and  then  it  would  be  true  that 
the  poor  are  in  poorer  circumstances  than  formerly.  But  the 
sum  total  of  wealth  is  not  stationary  ;  it  increases  with  great 
rapidity,  and  while  under  this  increase  the  capitalistic  side 
secures  a  greater  relative  advantage  than  the  wage-earner  of 
the  profits  of  production,  the  wage-earner  secures  an  advantage 
which  means  the  improvement  of  his  condition.  It  has  been 


346  Rich  and  Poor.  [§  183 

shown  by  private  inquiry  in  New  York  and  Boston  that  the 
largest  estates  fifty  years  ago  constituted  a  much  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  total  wealth  of  those  cities  than  do  the  same  number 
of  large  estates  to-day.  No  official  investigation  in  this  direc- 
tion has  been  made,  but  it  is  a  subject  that  will  well  repay  the 
private  student  of  practical  sociology. 

Of  late  it  has  been  currently  reported  —  and  the  statement 
has  not  been  contradicted  —  that  the  rich  men  of  Boston  were 
comparatively  richer  in  1829  than  they  are  now;  that  the  nine 
large  tax-payers  of  the  present  time  own  less  than  four  per  cent 
of  the  wealth  of  that  city,  while  the  nine  of  1829  owned  over 
eight  per  cent ;  that  the  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  richest 
Bostonians  of  1845  owned  more  comparatively  than  twelve 
hundred  of  the  richest  citizens  to-day.  Such  statements  have 
been  substantiated  by  the  investigations  of  Mr.  Freeman  Otis 
Willey  in  his  suggestive  volume  entitled  "  The  Laborer  and  the 
Capitalist." 

The  facts  as  to  the  increase  of  wealth  and  of  wages  and 
earnings  have  been  brought  out  in  their  proper  place,  and  from 
a  consideration  of  these  facts  the  conclusion  is  that  the  wage- 
earner  occupies  a  much  higher  standard  than  at  any  previous 
time.  While  he  may  not  have  received,  and  probably  does  not 
now  receive,  a  just  proportion  of  the  profits  of  modern  methods 
of  production,  he  is  really  much  better  off  than  ever  before  ;  for 
poverty  is  not  the  same  it  was  once.  It  can  be  demonstrated 
that  the  condition  of  the  poor  man  is  improving,  and  that  his 
share  is  relatively  greater  than  under  previous  systems,  and  we 
know  that  the  proportion  of  the  skilled  workers  of  the  com- 
munity and  of  those  engaged  in  the  higher  classes  of  employ- 
ment is  constantly  increasing. 

Society  recognises  the  equal  rights  of  all  men,  whether  skilled 
or  unskilled,  and  the  inherent  right  of  self-preservation  is  the 
fundamental  basis  of  the  right  to  property  ;  yet  sociology  teaches 
that  the  endowment  of  faculties  is  unequal,  and  hence  the  con- 
ditions surrounding  men  are  unequal.  As  a  psychological 
matter,  fortunes  must  be  unequal.  This  principle  is  nowhere 


§184]  Use  of  Wealth.  347 

better  stated  than  by  Abraham  Lincoln  :  "  Property  is  desirable, 
is  a  positive  good  in  the  world.  That  some  should  be  rich 
shows  that  others  may  become  rich,  and  hence  is  just  encour- 
agement to  industry  and  enterprise.  Let  no  man  who  is  house- 
less pull  down  the  house  of  another,  but  let  him  work  diligently 
and  build  one  for  himself,  thus  by  example  assuring  that  his 
own  shall  be  safe  from  violence  when  built." 

184.    Use  of  Wealth. 

When  wealth  is  used  productively  there  can  be  little  differ- 
ence in  the  result  to  the  community,  whether  it  be  contributed 
by  thousands  to  the  common  stock,  or  manipulated  by  a  small 
association  of  men  owning  the  bulk  of  it.  If  a  man  be  worth 
ten  million  dollars,  and  if  he  use  this  as  productive  capital,  the 
community  practically  owns  it,  for  capital  itself,  no  matter 
whether  the  title  of  it  be  in  one  man  or  in  a  thousand,  cannot 
be  sacrificed ;  it  must  be  actively  employed  ;  only  the  usufruct 
is  ever  secured  by  the  community  at  large.  Idle  capital  has 
no  power.  Productive  capital,  or  capital  productively  employed, 
can  never,  then,  in  any  sense,  be  the  cause  of  any  prevailing 
unrest.  It  is  what  may  be  called  the  criminal  use  of  wealth  — 
that  is,  its  unproductive  employment  —  that  irritates  the  public 
mind.  And  here,  in  discussing  the  question  as  to  whether  the 
rich  are  growing  richer  and  the  poor  poorer,  we  should  make 
an  important  and  a  clear  discrimination.  The  use  of  wealth 
for  display  is  often  defended  on  the  ground  that  it  gives  em- 
ployment to  a  great  number  of  people  ;  but  in  fact  such 
employment  is  spasmodic,  is  not  productive,  does  not  give  sta- 
bility of  condition,  or  increase  the  standard  of  living  of  those 
engaged  in  it ;  and  it  must  be  contended,  from  a  moral  point 
of  view,  that  even  the  continuous  giving  of  great  balls,  for  in- 
stance, or  any  other  ostentatious  employment  of  wealth,  would 
in  the  long  run  demoralise  the  recipients  of  the  wages  paid  in 
such  display,  because  of  the  enervating  luxury  into  which  all 
would  ultimately  fall.  But  wise,  fair,  and  continuous  employ- 
ment of  the  greatest  number  of  persons  in  the  production  of 


348  Rich  and  Poor.  [§  184 

things  which  enter  into  legitimate  consumption  for  the  actual 
use  of  the  people,  for  cheapening  the  cost  of  living,  and  for  the 
elevation  of  the  standard  of  living  itself,  through  making  pos- 
sible the  attainment  of  some  of  the  higher  things  in  life,  such 
as  the  productions  of  art,  education,  music,  everything  that 
beautifies  and  helps  and  stimulates,  —  such  employment  has  no 
demoralising  influence,  and  does  not  affect  in  an  unhealthy  way 
the  public  conscience,  nor  tend  to  irritate  that  of  the  individual. 

A  poor  man  may  make  a  criminal  use  of  wealth  as  well  as 
the  rich.  He  may  use  it  in  the  purchase  of  those  things  that 
perish  with  the  use,  and  result  in  no  good  to  himself  or  to  his 
family.  He  may  spend  it  in  some  form  of  riotous  living,  or  in 
the  insane  attempt  to  keep  up  appearances  which  are  not 
legitimate. 

One  of  the  roots  of  the  evil  is  the  misuse  of  wealth  ;  it  is  to 
this  the  poor  object,  and  not  to  the  possession  of  wealth.  They 
do  not  like  the  display  of  enervating  luxury.  They  know  well 
that  the  world  is  better  off  with  some  rich  than  it  would  be  with 
all  poor.  There  can  be  no  contention  on  this  point.  Progress 
would  cease,  industry  stop,  civilisation  itself  be  retarded,  were 
it  not  for  the  rich.  There  never  was  a  time,  moreover,  when 
the  rich  did  so  much  for  society  and  for  the  poor  as  they  are 
doing  at  the  present  time.  God  speed  the  day  when  all  the 
wealthy  will  fully  comprehend  that  their  wealth  is  held  in  trust ; 
that  they  are  but  the  means  of  helping  the  world,  and  that 
riches  have  been  given  them  for  this  purpose.  The  world  is 
recognising  this.  Millionaires  are  understanding  it  more  and 
more,  and  so  those  of  low  estate  are  securing  the  benefit. 

185.    Effects  of  Modem  Competition. 

The  competition  of  our  age  is  intellectual  more  than 
physical,  but  with  the  unequipped  man  the  attempt  is  made 
to  bring  muscle  into  competition  with  brain.  As  a  result,  brain 
succeeds,  and  the  man  who  has  attempted  to  compete  with  it 
on  a  physical  basis  suffers.  The  mental  competition  of  to-day 
means  a  large  class  of  left-over  men  and  women  who  cannot 


§185]  Modern  Competition.  349 

keep  up  to  the  present  requirements.  These  help  to  keep  the 
body  of  the  poor  unhappily  large,  although  it  is  being  restricted 
from  generation  to  generation  in  its  breadth,  and  the  pyramid 
is  rising  into  a  different  form.  Miserable  conditions  are  found 
everywhere.  The  effort  of  the  rich  is  to  remove  them.  The 
activity  of  governments  in  improving  slum  districts  in  cities, 
the  moral  effects  of  rapid  transit  in  taking  the  population 
out  of  the  congested  parts  of  great  cities  into  suburban 
homes,  where  they  meet  the  incoming  thousands  from  the 
country  homes,  constitute  great  factors  in  alleviating  present 
conditions.  This  suburban  population  itself  is  solving  many 
problems,  both  of  city  and  of  farm. 

As  wealthy  men  understand  these  things,  as  they  join  hands 
in  disseminating  knowledge,  in  founding  institutions,  thus 
securing  the  very  elements  of  a  democratic  government  to 
the  people  at  large,  there  is  less  and  less  quarrel  about  wealth ; 
but  there  is  an  increased  quarrel  about  some  classes  of  wealth 
and  some  classes  of  wealthy  people.  It  is  this  which  gives  em- 
phasis to  the  assertion  that  the  rich  are  growing  richer  and  the 
poor  poorer.  If  it  be  true,  religion  is  a  failure,  education  a 
snare,  industry  an  enemy  of  man,  and  civilisation  a  delusion. 
The  statement  is  not  true,  as  a  whole ;  but  it  is  true  that  the 
rich  are  growing  richer,  and  the  poor  are  growing  better  off; 
and  with  increased  understanding  of  the  true  uses  of  wealth, 
the  proportion  in  which  the  rich  are  growing  richer  and  the 
poor  better  off  will  assume  more  just  and  equitable  relations, 
and  thus  social  well-being  will  be  more  easily  acquired  and  the 
happiness  of  the  whole  more  generally  secured. 


Part  VII. 
The  Defence  of  Society. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
CRIMINOLOGY. 
186.    References. 

Henry  M.  Boies,  The  Science  of  Penology  (Chap.  XIV.)  Prison  Labor 
and  Prisoners  and  Paupers;  Arthur  M.a.cT)o's\a.}A,  Abnormal  Man  ;  United 
States  Eleventh  Census,  Report  on  Crime,  Pauperism,  and  Benevolence; 
Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour,  Eleventh  Annual  Report 
(1880)  Part  III.,  and  Twelfth  Annual  Report  (1881),  Part  II. ;  Massachu- 
setts State  Board  of  Lunacy  and  Charity,  Eighteenth  Annual  Report 
(1896);  William  Tallack,  Penological  and  Preventive  Principles;  F.  H. 
Wines,  Punishment  and  Reformation;  National  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Corrections,  Annual  Reports  (passim);  Henry  Lyle  Winter,  Notes  on 
Criminal  Anthropology  and  Bio-sociology  (reprint  from  State  Hospitals 
Bulletin,  October,  1897);  Lester  F.  Ward,  Dynamic  Sociology  (ad  ed.),  I. 
239,  283,  and  II.  240,  366,  511  ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Criminal  Statistics, 
in  Catholic  University  Bulletin,  II.  162  (April,  1896) ;  Relation  of  Econ- 
omic Conditions  to  the  Causes  of  Crime,  in  American  Academy  of  Political 
and  Social  Science,  Annals,  III.  764  (May,  1893). 

187.    Crime. 

The  discussion  thus  far  has  related  to  the  varied  and 
innumerable  functions  which  society  creates  and  fosters  to 
promote  prosperity  and  to  secure  the  happiness  of  the  indivi- 
dual through  his  intelligence  and  his  love  of  the  beautiful.  It 
has  another  important  function,  —  its  own  defence  against  the 
encroachments  or  depredations  of  the  evil-minded.  No  mat- 
ter what  the  state  of  civilisation  may  have  been  in  the  past, 
crime  has  existed ;  no  matter  how  thoroughly  developed  any 
community  may  become,  crime  exists,  and  a  threefold  respon- 

35° 


§187]  Crime.  351 

sibility  is  thus  thrown  upon  society,  —  to  guard  itself  against 
the  acts  of  the  criminal,  to  bring  home  the  consequences  to 
the  wrong-doer,  and  to  prevent  crime. 

The  question  whether  crime  in  this  country  is  increasing 
or  decreasing  has  not  been  definitely  settled,  for  the  only 
positive  data  we  have  relate  to  the  bare  numbers  of  inmates 
of  jails  and  penitentiaries.  The  number  of  convicts  in  the 
penitentiaries  of  the  United  States,  including  leased  prisoners, 
in  1880  was  35,538,  or  709  in  each  million  of  the  popula- 
tion; in  iSpo1  it  was  45,233,  or  722  convicts  in  each  million. 
Dr.  F.  H.  Wines,  the  expert  in  charge  of  the  criminal  statistics 
of  the  Eleventh  Census,  in  commenting  upon  these  figures, 
says  :  — • 

"  It  follows  that  while  the  absolute  increase  in  the  number  of 
penitentiary  convicts  was  9,695,  the  relative  increase,  compared 
with  the  growth  of  the  population  at  large,  was  only  13  to  the 
million.  It  is  evident  that  this  rate  of  growth  is  not  alarming, 
since  further  study  may  result  in  an  explanation  of  it,  or  even  in 
showing  that  crime  of  a  serious  character  is  rather  on  the  decline 
in  this  country  than  on  the  increase." 

Before  any  definite  and  final  conclusion  can  be  reached,  the 
number  and  relations  of  prisoners  not  in  penitentiaries  should 
be  the  subject  of  careful  inquiry,  and  the  character  of  crimes 
for  which  prisoners  are  held  in  custody,  their  average  prison 
life,  the  instances  of  recommittals,  must  all  be  taken  into 
account. 

The  penitentiary  population  of  the  country  in  1890,*  di- 
vided geographically,  shows  there  were  14,477  m  tne  North 
Atlantic  division,  15,707  in  the  South  Atlantic  and  South  Cen- 
tral divisions,  and  15,049  in  the  North  Central  and  Western 
divisions.  Of  the  whole  number,  43,442  were  men  and  1,791 
women;  the  latter  decreased  in  the  ten  years  following  1880. 

Much  is  made  in  popular  discussion  of  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  negroes  and  foreigners.  For  the  43,127  convicts 
whose  parentage  could  be  ascertained  in  1 890 l  14, 7  25  were 
1  No  data  collected  since  1890. 


352  Criminology.  [§187 

foreign  born,  14,687  came  from  the  coloured  population,  while 
13,715  came  from  the  native  white  population.1  Nearly  all 
the  negroes  were  from  Southern  prisons.  The  dangerous  dis- 
proportion of  foreign  criminals  —  one-third  of  the  inmates  of 
prisons  coming  from  one-seventh  of  the  population  —  instantly 
disappears,  however,  when  we  reflect  that  children  do  not  com- 
mit penitentiary  crimes;  as  between  native-born  adults  and 
foreign-born  adults  the  proportion  of  criminals  is  but  little 
greater  among  foreigners. 

The  total  number  of  prisoners  in  county  jails  June  i,  1890, 
is  stated  at  19,538,  undoubtedly  much  below  the  truth;  this 
is  an  increase,  so  far  as  the  records  show,  of  6,847  in  ten  years, 
or  at  the  rate  of  53.95  per  cent,  while  the  increase  in  the 
total  population  was  24.86.  The  North  Atlantic  division  of 
States  shows  the  largest  increase  in  county  jail  prisoners,  where 
such  increase  was  95  to  the  million. 

188.    Is  there  an  Increase  or  a  Decrease  in  Crime? 

Although  the  statistics  of  the  whole  number  of  criminals  or 
sentences  for  crimes  committed  for  any  locality  usually  show 
increase,  and  sometimes  alarming  increase,  they  bring  out  only 
the  superficial  view  of  the  case.  There  are  so  many  complica- 
tions involved  in  every  effort  to  ascertain  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  crime  in  different  countries,  or  communities  of  the 
same  country,  or  at  different  periods  of  time,  that  it  is  next  to 
impossible  even  for  the  expert  to  arrive  at  a  positive  conclusion 
on  the  subject.  Without  undertaking  to  show  whether  crime 
is,  in  genera],  increasing  or  decreasing  in  this  country,  some  of 
the  difficulties  which  lie  in  the  way  of  reaching  a  conclusion 
may  be  stated,  so  as  to  put  the  student  of  criminal  conditions 
upon  his  guard,  and  thus  to  enable  him  to  reach  more  scientific 
or  at  least  more  rational  conclusions  than  if  he  depended  en- 

1  The  number  of  native  white  prisoners  is  0.19  per  cent  of  the  total 
adult  native  white  population,  while  the  number  of  foreign  white  pris- 
oners is  0.21  per  cent  of  the  total  adult  foreign  white  population. 


§i88] 


Increase  or  Decrease. 


353 


tirely  upon  the  statistics ;  for  statistics  of  criminal  conditions 
may  be  perfectly  true,  and  yet  the  conclusions  drawn  from  them 
may  be  absolutely  false. 

An  illustration  is  drawn  from  statistics  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts  from  1860  to  1879,  inclusive.1  The  clerks  of 
all  criminal  courts  of  that  Commonwealth  were  obliged  by  law 
to  render  an  accurate  account  of  all  sentences,  causes  of  sen- 
tences, etc.,  for  each  criminal  court.  These  returns,  made  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  under  oath,  were  tabulated 
a  few  years  ago,  and  no  recent  data  of  like  character  show  so 
clearly  and  so  trustworthily  the  various  complications  and  feat- 
ures of  criminal  statistics. 

It  will  be  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  table  in  the  note 
that  the  total  sentences  after  1864  rose  very  rapidly  until  and 
including  1873,  when  they  reached  the  enormous  number  of 
46,132.  They  then  began  to  decline  until,  in  1879,  at  the 
close  of  the  twenty-year  period  under  discussion,  they  fell  to 

1  SENTENCES  FOR  DRUNKENNESS  AND  SOME  OTHER  OFFENCES  IN 
MASSACHUSETTS,  1860  TO  1879,  INCLUSIVE,  RELATIVE  TO  ALL  CRIMES. 


Year. 

Total 
(all  crimes). 

Drunkenness. 

Crimes,  not  including 
Drunkenness  and 
Liquor  Offences. 

High  Crimes. 

1860 

l(>,S'3 

6,334 

9,38s 

33i 

1861 

14.294 

4,426 

9,339 

382 

1862 

'3-934 

6,065 

7,465 

214 

1863 

14,859 

7,066 

7,347 

162 

1864 

15,858 

7-526 

7,788 

119 

1865 

17,276 

8,060 

8,507 

206 

1866 

22,4U9 

",563 

9,807 

3'2 

1867 

26  281 

11,019 

11,588 

275 

1868 

25,857 

12,920 

10,871 

399 

1869 

31,850 

16.742 

12,160 

3i7 

1870 

39,693 

18,880 

I3,3io 

394 

1871 

39,869 

20,383 

12,231 

283 

1872 

45,297 

23.587 

13.498 

3'0 

1873 

46,132 

23,842 

14,227 

459 

i*74 

43.684 

22,748 

14,506 

455 

1875 

40,404 

23,553 

14,613 

500 

1876 

33,103 

18,107 

13,865 

490 

1877 

31,688 

17,614 

12,826 

525 

1878 

31,1.8 

'6,795 

13.340 

626 

1879 

28,I49 

16,211 

11,278 

462 

23 


354 


Criminology. 


[§188 


28,149,  a  number  less  than  that  for  each  of  the  ten  years 
previous. 

The  explanation  of  this  wave  of  criminality  is  simple.  Look- 
ing at  the  column  of  sentences  for  drunkenness,  we  find  that 
the  number  rapidly  increased  from  1865  to  1873,  when  it 
reached  the  high  figure  of  23,842.  Sentences  for  minor  crimes 
other  than  drunkenness  and  liquor  offences  also  nearly  doubled 
between  1864  and  1873  ;  but  the  high  crimes,  which  measure 
the  danger  to  life  and  property,  varied  much  from  year  to  year 
throughout  the  period,  but  ended  at  no  greater  proportion  to 
the  population  than  in  the  beginning. 

Plainly  these  figures  alone  tell  no  story,  but  a  table  has  been 
made  showing  the  percentage  of  increase  over  1860,  both  in 
sentences  for  drunkenness  and  for  other  offences,  the  percen- 
tage of  increase  of  population,  and  the  percentage  of  each  class 
of  sentences  per  one  thousand  of  the  population  for  such  periods 
as  the  census  discloses  the  population.  This  table  follows,  and 
is  thoroughly  instructive  in  illustration  of  the  difficulties  to  which 
reference  has  been  made  :  — 


Percentages  of  Increase  over  1860. 

Number  per  1,000  Population. 

bo 

•I-H, 

M-O 

c  c 
••5  «  «j 

_=  a  v 

• 

Periods. 

o    • 

c  "  g 

u 

.SS" 

C"w" 

c 

c 
.2 

1  S 

t>  'C 

g 

o  cO 
c  Js  ** 

.§ 

u 

c 

c 
c 

'ii* 

.1 
*c 

rt 

CO  0 

J< 

""  S  § 

CJ 

CO 

JJ 

10    C    2 

U 

*y 

*rt  ~- 

c 

^    £    G" 

M 

*(« 

c 

£  g   <T 

j3 

0* 

C"-- 

3 

•r  S  J 

Ml 

o 

3 

|03 

PH 

H 

Q 

U 

S 

H 

P 

CJ 

S 

i860 

17.4. 

C.I 

76 

O  7 

1865 

2-9 

4.6 

*,/•  — 

9-3  l 

37-81 

j  T- 
I3.6 

J  l 

6.4 

/  >v^ 

6.7 

uo 

0.2 

1870 

I8.3 

140.3 

I98.O 

41.9 

19.0 

27.2 

13.0 

9.1 

o-3 

1875 

34-i 

144.0 

271.8 

55-3 

S1-1 

24-5 

14-3 

8.8 

0-3 

1879 

5°-4 

70.4 

'55-9 

20.  i 

39-6 

I5-2 

8.8 

6.1 

O.2 

1  Decrease. 


§189]  Statistics  of  Penology.  355 

189.    The  Statistical  Method  applied  to  Penology. 

The  percentages  of  increase  alone  would  be  misleading; 
hence  we  must  ascertain  the  number  of  sentences  under  each 
designation  for  every  one  thousand  of  the  population,  and 
here  at  last  we  find  the  true  significant  relations  of  things.  In 
1860  for  Massachusetts  the  total  number  of  sentences  for  all 
crimes  was  13.4  for  each  one  thousand,  while  at  the  end  of 
the  twenty  years  it  was  only  15.2.  The  sentences  for  drunk- 
enness varied  from  5.1  in  each  one  thousand  in  1860  to  14.3 
in  1875,  an<l  8.8  in  1879.  The  sentences  for  crimes  not  in- 
cluding drunkenness  and  liquor  offences  really  fell  off  between 
1860  and  1879,  the  number  being  7.6  for  each  thousand  of 
the  population  in  the  first  year  and  6.1  in  the  latter  year,  while 
the  ratio  of  high  crimes  to  population  shows  an  exceedingly 
satisfactory  condition,  the  sentences  for  such  crimes  consti- 
tuting 0.3  to  each  one  thousand  of  the  population  in  1860,  and 
0.2  in  1879. 

The  whole  number  of  sentences  for  all  crimes  in  the  twenty 
years  was  578,348.  Of  this  whole  number  340,814,  or  60  per 
cent,  were  for  liquor  offences  of  some  kind.  Taking  the  high 
crimes,  we  find' that  the  increase  over  1860  was  39.6  per  cent, 
while  the  increase  of  population  for  the  twenty  years  was 
50.4  per  cent. 

Now  this  ceaseless  variation  in  the  number  of  sentences 
rests  almost  entirely  upon  legislation  relative  to  the  alcoholic 
liquor  traffic.  In  Massachusetts  the  prohibitory  law  of  1855 
gave  place  to  a  license  law  in  1868.  It  was  the  vigorous  prose- 
cutions of  1866  and  1867  under  the  prohibitory  law  which 
caused  the  number  of  sentences  to  increase,  and  this  very  in- 
crease led  to  the  license  law  of  1868;  but  the  friends  of  a 
license  law  insisted  upon  its  vigorous  enforcement,  and  such 
enforcement  carried  the  number  of  liquor  convictions  of  all 
grades  still  higher,  when  another  popular  reaction  caused  the 
re-enactment  of  the  prohibitory  law,  which  went  into  effect 
July  i,  1869,  and  under  this  the  statistics  for  drunkenness  and 


356  Criminology.  [§189 

liquor  offences  went  to  their  highest  points  in  1872  and  1873. 
In  1870  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  allowed  the  free  sale 
of  "  ale,  porter,  strong  beer,  and  lager  beer  "  everywhere  in 
the  State,  unless  prohibited  by  local  vote.  This  law  was  re- 
pealed in  1873.  From  that  year,  either  through  the  effect  of 
the  repeal  of  the  beer  law  or  of  a  waning  interest  in  the  pro- 
hibitory law,  resulting  in  a  decreased  vigilance  on  the  part  of 
the  officers  in  its  enforcement  and  in  prosecutions,  the  num- 
ber of  crimes  dropped  till  1875,  when  the  prohibitory  law 
was  repealed.  From  1876  to  the  end  of  the  term  under  dis- 
cussion (1879)  there  was  a  constant  decrease  in  the  number 
of  sentences. 

In  view  of  this  state  of  affairs,  it  is  interesting  to  inquire 
whether  the  figures  representing  liquor  offences  are  due  to 
legislation  wholly,  or  to  a  vigorous  or  weak  execution  of  the 
law,  or  to  the  positive  decline  of  drunkenness  through  the 
effect  of  reform  movements.  Whatever  the  answer  may  be, 
it  is  true  that  sentences  for  minor  crimes  and  misdemeanours, 
and  even  for  felonies  and  aggravated  crimes,  have  risen  or 
fallen  as  indicated  by  the  barometer  of  sentences  for  liquor 
offences  alone. 

This  concrete  illustration  from  the  statistics  of  Massachu- 
setts shows  that  in  the  attempt  to  ascertain  wh&ther  or  not 
crime  is  on  the  increase  close  attention  should  be  paid  to 
legislation.  Law  is  constantly  raising  what  were  formerly  only 
moral  delinquencies  to  the  grade  of  well-defined  crimes,  pun- 
ishable by  light  sentences.  The  result  is  that  we  are  con- 
stantly increasing  the  work  of  criminal  courts  and  the  number 
of  sentences,  even  in  communities  where  the  actual  volume  of 
crime  is  decreasing.  The  only  true  method,  probably,  of 
ascertaining  the  answer  to  the  question  as  to  the  increase  or 
decrease  of  crime  is  to  take  only  those  crimes  which  have  ex- 
isted through  long  series  of  years,  and  study  the  statistics  of 
sentences  relating  to  them. 

Another  complication  in  the  study  of  criminal  statistics 
arises  from  the  greater  completeness  of  the  statistics  of  later 


§190]  Local  Conditions.  357 

periods,  so  that  when  they  are  brought  into  comparison  with 
those  of  earlier  years  the  results  are  not  satisfactory.  In  the 
old  countries  of  Europe,  where  the  enforcement  of  law  has 
become  a  science  almost,  the  criminal  statistics  show,  gen- 
erally, a  very  gradual  decrease.  Conditions  are  fixed  ;  politics 
does  not  enter  into  the  enforcement  of  law ;  civilisation  is 
distributed  in  an  equal  measure  over  the  whole  country.  In 
the  United  States  the  execution  of  law  is  vigorous  or  lax,  in 
accordance  with  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  community,  thus 
varying  greatly  in  the  different  parts  of  the  United  States, 
while,  again,  politics  enters  largely  into  the  whole  question. 
This  latter  statement  is  especially  true  with  reference  to  liquor 
legislation.  Investigations  have  shown  that  in  some  States  the 
municipal  authorities  are  v^ery  much  opposed  to  a  prohibitory 
law.  They,  therefore,  insist  upon  a  very  vigorous  execution  of 
such  laws  through  the  arrest  of  every  person  who  can  by  any 
excuse  whatever  be  shown  to  be  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 
This  creates  a  false  impression  in  the  community,  showing  by 
the  statistics  that  drunkenness  is  very  prevalent  when  a  pro- 
hibitory law  is  in  existence.  On  the  other  hand,  municipal 
police  forces  are  often  more  inclined  to  favour  a  license  law ; 
and  when  such  a  law  exists  the  officers  are  apt  to  be  quite 
lenient  in  making  arrests  of  drunken  persons,  creating  the 
impression  —  just  the  reverse  of  the  former  one —  that  under 
the  license  law  drunkenness  does  not  prevail  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent.  All  these  things  are  inherent  in  the  conditions  of 
our  country. 

190.    Effect  of  Local  Conditions  on  Crime. 

In  border  States  the  execution  of  the  law  is  difficult ;  crime 
prevails,  and  the  statistics  are  faulty.  In  the  older  parts  of 
the  country  the  execution  of  law  is  more  strictly  attended  to, 
and  the  statistics  more  perfect,  and  thus  a  false  impression  is 
created,  especially  when  comparison  is  attempted  for  different 
periods  of  time.  More  serious  complications  arise,  however, 
when  comparisons  are  attempted  between  different  localities ; 


35  8  Criminology.  [§190 

as,  for  instance,  for  two  different  States  or  for  a  number  of 
States. 

The  criminal  code  of  State  X,  for  instance,  in  1879  provided 
for  the  punishment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  offences 
designated  as  crimes.  The  criminal  code  of  State  Y,  for  the 
same  year,  recognised  but  one  hundred  and  eight  such  offences 
as  crimes,  punishable  at  law ;  that  is,  in  X  a  man  might  be 
tried  for  fifty  distinct  offences  for  which  he  would  not  be 
molested  at  all  in  Y.  Even  in  offences  common  to  both,  if 
statistics  of  the  number  of  persons  in  prison  for  crime  were 
made  a  basis,  no  conclusion  would  be  safe ;  for  of  such  offences 
several  were  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  X,  and  by  fine 
only  in  Y.  Such  were  the  grave  offences  of  adultery,  forni- 
cation, lewd  conduct,  drunkenness,  carrying  concealed  weapons, 
extortion.  It  appeared  that  more  than  half  of  the  commit- 
ments in  X  were  for  crimes  which  in  Y  would  have  been 
punished  by  fine  only,  so  that  the  mere  number  of  prisoners 
would  show  nothing  about  them.  These  statements  completely 
destroy  the  value  of  the  comparisons  between  States  where 
the  codes  vary  as  much  as  those  to  which  reference  has  been 
made. 

Other  conditions  than  those  relating  to  the  criminal  code, 
however,  offer  obstacles  to  any  exact  comparison.  One  may  be 
a  manufacturing  community  ;  another  an  agricultural  commu- 
nity. In  one  the  population  may  have  been  augmented 
constantly  by  immigration  from  abroad ;  in  the  other  only 
by  natural  accretions.  The  white  population  of  one  State 
may  have  grown  from  original  stock ;  that  of  another  from 
original  stock  and  foreign  grafts.  One  may  have  been  the 
subject  of  much  immigration ;  the  other  of  but  little.  So 
even  with  a  like  number  as  to  population,  the  criminal  sta- 
tistics cannot  be  compared. 

Very  many  persons  are  fond  of  drawing  parallel  illustra- 
tions when  studying  criminal  statistics.  Dr.  Arthur  MacDonald, 
in  his  valuable  work  entitled  "  Abnormal  Man,"  has  disclosed 
the  absurdity  of  using  concomitants  in  undertaking  to  ascertain 


§191]  Great  Britain.  359 

the  causes  of  crime.  In  Germany  the  convictions  per  ten 
thousand  inhabitants  over  twelve  years  of  age  were  106  in  1885 
and  108.2  in  1886.  In  1885  woollen  manufactures  to  the 
value  of  ,£2,663,015  were  imported  into  Germany,  and  in  1886 
the  value  reached  was  .£2,783,728,  showing  an  increase  some- 
what parallel  to  that  of  the  number  of  convictions.  Persons 
fond  of  arguing  from  concomitancy  to  causation  might  be  led 
to  conclude  that  the  increase  in  wool  importation  caused  in- 
crease in  crime. 

This  use  of  concomitants  is  more  clearly  illustrated  when 
attempts  are  made  to  show  the  relation  of  education  to  crime ; 
it  is  found  that  crime  increases  as  religious  and  moral  forces 
increase ;  that  is,  as  the  efforts  of  religious  and  moral  bodies 
become  more  efficient,  there  seems  often  to  be  alongside  this 
work  an  increase  in  crime.  The  absurdity  consists  in  reason- 
ing from  concomitants  whose  reciprocal  influence  is  unknown ; 
for,  as  Dr.  MacDonald  remarks,  sociology  has  not  reached  that 
stage  of  completeness  where  social  forces  can  be  measured  and 
the  resultant  action  in  this  or  that  tendency  be  calculated. 
The  social  equation  ha§  too  many  unknown  quantities  to  admit 
of  solution  by  any  method  yet  known.  Dr.  MacDonald  further 
brings  out  the  fact  that  while  it  is  true  that  a  majority  of  countries 
show  an  increase  in  both  education  and  certain  forms  of  crime, 
yet  not  a  few,  and  some  of  the  most  developed  nations,  show 
an  increase  of  education  and  a  decrease  of  crime.  All  these 
illustrations  should  teach  one  to  avoid  irrelevant  facts  in  attempt- 
ing to  account  for  an  increase  or  a  decrease  of  crime. 

191.     Crime  in  Great  Britain. 

In  countries  where  we  have  statistics  which  avoid  these 
anomalies  and  misleading  comparisons,  the  status  of  crime  is 
distinctly  encouraging.  For  England  and  Wales  the  total 
number  of  committals  in  1877  was  15,890;  from  that  time 
there  has  been  a  gradual  and  persistent  decrease,  the  latest 
available  figures  (those  for  1900)  showing  only  10,327.  The 
number  of  convictions  for  1877  was  11,942,  rising  to  12,525 


360  Criminology.  [§  191 

in  1879,  since  which  time  there  has  been  such  a  decrease  that 
the  number  for  1900  was  8,155. 

If  we  look  to  Scotland  the  same  tendency  is  disclosed,  the 
committals  for  trial  in  1877  being  2,684,  and  in  1900,  2,172  ; 
the  convictions,  2,009  m  J8?7  and  1,840  in  1900.  There  is 
a  still  more  remarkable  decrease,  however,  for  Ireland,  where 
the  committals  in  1877  numbered  3,870,  and  in  1900,  1,682  ; 
while  the  convictions  in  the  first  year  numbered  2,300,  and  in 
the  last,  1,087.  Continental  countries  show  similar  decrease  ; 
where  the  execution  of  law  has  been  uniform  the  decrease  is 
apparent. 

In  a  country  like  the  United  States,  with  varied  conditions, 
from  those  attending  high  civilisation  to  those  accompanying 
frontier  communities,  one  would  naturally  look  for  an  increase 
in  criminal  cases.  Unfortunately,  we  have  not  the  statistics  of 
committals  and  convictions  like  those  shown  for  Great  Britain ; 
so  dependence  must  be  made  upon  the  somewhat  unsatisfactory 
statistics  of  prisoners  at  different  periods. 

192.     Causes  of  Crime. 

The  criminologist,  in  his  search  for  the  causes  of  crime,  can- 
not, in  the  nature  of  things,  accept  any  "  blanket  theory."  The 
fall  of  man  and  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity  may  satisfy  his 
theological  views  as  to  the  origin  of  evil,  but  they  cannot  round 
out  his  sociological  aspirations.  He  must,  as  a  criminologist, 
be  able  to  develop  specific  causes  more  or  less  in  harmony  with 
his  theology.  He  cannot  be  a  criminologist  without  being 
scientific.  He  must  study  anthropology,  —  "  the  biology  of  the 
human  race,"  —  and  through  this  study  he  may  scientifically 
classify  the  causes  of  crime.  His  theology  will  warn  him  of  the 
results  of  a  criminal  career,  and  these  results  will  strengthen 
his  theological  views ;  but  his  scientific  classification  must  be 
based  upon  his  scientific  researches. 

The  investigator  will  find  many  types  of  criminals,  —  some 
born  to  crime  through  their  psycho-physical  organisation,  and 
prone  to  commit  crime  without  regard  to  good  or  bad  environ- 


§192]  Causes  of  Crime.  361 

ment.     Whether  prosperous  or  unprosperous,  under  all  condi- 
tions, such  a  man  not  only  commits  crime,  but  defends  it. 

Another  type  of  man,  even  with  a  normal  psycho-physical 
organisation,  commits  crime  through  the  influence  of  environ- 
ment, or  of  an  uneducated  and  untrained  conscience,  or  of  a 
conscience  naturally  dull.  The  recent  researches  into  the 
relation  of  the  formation  of  certain  parts  of  the  brain  to 
criminal  tendencies  are  among  the  most  Yaluakle  studies  of 
scientific  men  ;  yet  should  their  researches  prove  beyond  doubt 
that  certain  brain  formations  lead  directly  to  criminal  courses, 
such  demonstration  could  not  fully  account  for  all  criminal  lives, 
in  all  degrees.  If  they  did,  there  would  be  no  use  of  wasting 
time  over  the  discussion  of  the  influence  of  heredity,  environ- 
ment, economic  conditions,  or  of  any  of  the  other  causes  which, 
related  or  unrelated,  lead  men  to  criminal  courses.  Whatever 
cause  the  scientific  criminologist  may  find  and  even  establish, 
it  is  true,  and  must  always  be  true,  that  a  weak  conscience  will 
be  lulled  by  necessity  or  desire  to  the  point  of  criminal  action, 
and  that  conditions  surrounding  a  man  will  at  times  stimulate 
such  action.  The  good  old  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  free  will 
recognises  that  power  of  choice  between  good  and  evil  which 
every  sane  man  and  woman  is  aware  of,  though  the  evil  may 
be  habitually  chosen.  Yet  study  of  criminology  throws  one 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  idea  that  criminals  usually  become 
such  through  the  loss  of  moral  attributes  once  possessed  ;  few 
criminals  who  have  ever  started  in  life  comparatively  good  men 
have  wilfully  and  maliciously  broken  the  laws  of  the  State. 
Most  criminals  are  undeveloped  men  in  all  their  elements, 
whether  we  think  of  them  as  workers  or  as  moral  and  intellec- 
tual beings  :  their  faculties  are  undeveloped,  not  only  those 
which  enable  them  to  labour  honestly  and  faithfully  for  the  care 
and  support  of  themselves  and  their  families,  but  also  all  their 
moral  and  intellectual  faculties  ;  they  are  not  fallen  beings,  but 
undeveloped  individuals. 

The  other  view,  that  of  complete  moral  responsibility  in  all 
cases,  leads  men  to  adopt  many  illogical  conclusions,  and  aiso 


362  Criminology.  [§192 

especially  deludes  them  into  considering  all  the  convicts  of  a 
State  as  belonging  to  the  same  class.  Notwithstanding  these 
statements,  it  is  true  that  men  even  with  fairly  sound  con- 
sciences can  and  do  become  habituated  to  the  idea  of  crime 
through  their  necessities  or  their  environment,  and  even  degen- 
erate from  a  reasonably  good  life  to  a  bad  one,  and  that  many 
weak  and  criminal  men  have  still  the  strength  to  avoid  wrong- 
doing, if  they  would  only  exercise  it. 

While  the  scientific  view  of  crime  attracts  one  more  than 
any  other,  the  penologist  must  govern  himself  by  the  doctrine 
that  men  commit  crime,  or  refrain  from  it,  as  they  wish  ;  that 
crime  is  the  result  of  some  craving,  some  want,  some  unsatis- 
fied desire ;  and  that  the  basic  action  or  motive  of  crime  is  to 
be  found  in  some  physical  or  mental  condition.  Whether  it 
suits  our  views  or  not,  therefore,  we  are  obliged  to  consider 
the  criminal  as  acting  under  free  will,  and  while  we  do  not  lose 
sight  of  all  the  scientific  conditions  which  are  alleged  as  pri- 
marily necessary  to  constitute  criminal  action,  we  must  deal 
with  the  criminal  as  a  free  moral  agent ;  as  one  committing 
his  act  to  satisfy  his  want  or  desire,  which  he  feels  he  is  unable 
to  satisfy  through  the  ordinary  or  legitimate  conditions. 

193.     Economic  Conditions  in  Relation  to  Crime. 

All  great  social  questions,  on  careful  analysis,  resolve  them- 
selves, in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  into  some  phase  of  what  we 
call  the  labour  question  ;  and  certainly  the  causes  of  crime,  in 
a  sociological  sense,  cannot  be  studied  without  considering  the 
status  of  man  in  the  prevailing  industrial  order,  for  among  all 
the  causes  for  criminal  action,  or  for  the  existence  of  the  crim- 
inal class,  we  find  economic  conditions  interwoven. 

Crime  was  not  so  fully  recognised  under  the  slave  and  the 
feudal  systems  as  it  has  been  under  the  modern  system  of 
labour.  For  ages  ownership  came  naturally  through  conquest ; 
possession  was  the  clear  title  to  property ;  conflict  and  con- 
quest were  the  prime  causes  of  private  ownership.  Hence, 
under  slavery,  crime  assumed  a  different  relationship  to  the 


§193]  Economic  Conditions.  363 

body  politic  than  it  assumes  under  the  modern  system,  where 
the  right  of  free  contract  prevails,  especially  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  to  kill  a  criminal  might  deprive  a  master  of  services. 
Under  the  feudal  system  so  intermingled  were  the  conditions 
that  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  clearly  define  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  individual ;  but  one  feature  was  the  multiplica- 
tion of  petty  jurisdictions,  and  the  subjection  to  the  crudest 
penalties  for  minor  offences.  The  central  principle  of  the 
middle  ages  was  that  every  person  was  a  part  of  a  class,  and 
had  protection  only  as  belonging  to  a  principal  class.  The 
peasant  was  overburdened  by  labour  and  responsibility;  all 
the  conditions  surrounding  his  labour  were  abject.  Pauperism 
seemed  as  inevitably  a  part  of  the  labour  system  as  tax-paying, 
and  crime,  the  offspring  of  pauperism  and  of  idleness,  was 
brutally  treated.  These  conditions,  betokening  an  unsound 
social  condition,  existed  until  progress  made  pauperism  and 
crime  as  well  the  disgrace  of  a  nation,  and  it  was  then  that 
pauperism  began  to  be  recognised  as  a  condition  which  might 
be  relieved  through  legislation.  Carry  industry  to  a  country 
not  given  to  mechanical  production  or  to  any  systematic  form 
of  labour,  employ  three-fourths  of  its  inhabitants,  give  them  a 
taste  of  education,  of  civilisation,  make  them  feel  the  power 
of  moral  forces  even  to  a  slight  degree,  and  the  misery  of  the 
other  fourth  may  be  gauged  by  the  progress  of  the  three- 
fourths,  and  paupers  and  resultant  criminals  will  then  seem 
abnormal. 

A  most  striking  illustration  is  the  emancipation  of  slaves  in 
this  country  in  the  Civil  War.  Under  the  old  system  the 
negro  slave  had  coarse  physical  comforts,  as  a  rule.  He  was 
brought  up,  nursed  in  sickness,  fed  and  clothed,  and  in  old 
age  could  still  exist.  He  had  no  responsibility,  and,  indeed, 
exercised  no  skill  beyond  what  was  taught  him.  To  eat,  to 
work,  and  to  sleep  were  all  that  was  expected  of  him ;  and 
unless  he  had  a  cruel  master,  he  lived  the  life  that  belongs  to 
the  animal.  Since  his  emancipation  and  his  endowment  with 
citizenship  he  has  been  obliged  to  support  himself  and  his 


364  Criminology.  [§*93 

family,  and  to  contend  with  all  obstacles  belonging  to  a  person 
in  a  state  of  freedom.  Under  the  system  of  villeinage  in  the 
old  country  it  could  not  be  said  that  there  were  any  general 
poor,  for  the  master  and  the  lord  of  the  manor  took  care  of 
the  labourers  their  whole  lives ;  and  in  our  Southern  towns, 
during  slavery,  the  same  thing  was  true ;  so  that  in  the  South 
there  were  few  poorhouses  and  comparatively  few  convicts. 
The  South  to-day  knows  what  pauperism  is,  as  England  learned 
when  the  system  of  villeinage  departed.  Southern  prisons 
have  become  active ;  and  all  that  belongs  to  the  defective,  the 
dependent,  and  the  delinquent  classes  has  come  to  be  familiar 
to  the  South  as  the  wards  of  the  State,  whereas  before  1861 
most  of  them  were  wards  of  individuals. 

The  progress  of  the  wage  system,  the  increasing  intelligence 
of  the  men  who  work  under  it  will,  as  time  advances,  correct 
these  crude  conditions.  They  do  not  cause  them  ;  they  only 
bring  them  into  prominence.  But  so  far  as  the  modern  indus- 
trial order  superinduces  idleness  or  non-employment,  in  so  far 
it  must  be  considered  as  having  a  direct  relation  to  the  causes 
of  crime.  Whatever  tendency  in  this  direction  exists  under 
the  modern  industrial  order  is  of  far  less  degree,  not  only  in 
extent,  but  in  severity,  than  the  conditions  which  were  super- 
induced by  the  industrial  order  which  preceded  it. 

194.    How  to  Prevent  Crime. 

Old  conditions  of  labour  were  all  attended  with  a  great 
volume  of  crime ;  and  it  was  crime,  to  a  large  extent,  which 
grew  out  of  individual  physical  wants.  Guizot  has  said  that 
labour  is  a  most  efficient  guarantee  against  the  revolutionary 
disposition  of  the  poor  classes.  He  might  have  added  that 
labour,  properly  remunerated,  is  an  effective  guarantee  against 
the  commission  of  crime.  Certainly  hunger  leads  to  more 
crime  of  a  petty  nature  than  any  other  one  cause. 

The  discussion  "  How  shall  poverty  be  abolished  and  crime 
be  eradicated  ?  "  is  a  very  old  one,  and  neither  modern  pro- 
fessional labour  reformers,  nor  philanthropists,  nor  criminol- 


§194]  How  to  Prevent  Crime.  365 

ogists,  nor  penologists,  have  any  patents  upon  the  theme. 
The  progress  of  the  world  may  be  read  as  well  by  the  statute 
books,  where  laws  grow  humane,  in  the  existence  of  prisons, 
in  the  establishment  of  charitable  institutions,  and  in  the  eco- 
nomic conditions  which  surround  labour,  as  in  written  history ; 
for,  as  the  condition  of  labour  rises,  pauperism  and  crime 
must  fall  in  the  general  scale. 

To  say  that  pauperism,  and  crime  as  an  attendant  evil,  fol- 
low the  unemployed  more  mercilessly  than  the  employed, 
would  be  a  statement  that  does  not  embody  the  whole  truth. 
Employment  of  the  unemployed  will  not  crush  pauperism  and 
crime,  even  if  every  able-bodied  man  in  the  country  could  be 
furnished  with  work  to-morrow.  Criminal  conditions,  the  evils 
we  are  considering,  have  always  existed,  no  matter  what  the 
social  or  legal  status  of  men,  —  under  the  most  favourable  as 
well  as  under  the  most  unfavourable  conditions  ;  under  liberal 
and  under  despotic  government ;  in  barbarous  and  in  enlight- 
ened lands ;  with  heathenism  and  with  Christianity;  under  a 
variety  of  commercial  systems  ;  and  yet  they  are,  in  a  philo- 
sophic sense,  a  rebuke  to  a  people  living  under  constitutional 
liberty. 

Universal  education  will  not  end  crime,  nor  the  realisation 
of  the  highest  hopes  of  the  temperance  and  labour  reformers, 
nor  the  general  adoption  of  the  Christian  religion.  But  all 
these  grand  and  divine  agencies  working  together  will  reduce 
the  twin  evils  to  a  minimum,  and  make  that  community  which 
tolerates  them  indictable  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion. 

Unfitness  for  productive  labour,  whether  it  springs  from 
lack  of  a  trade  or  occupation,  or  from  personal  antipathy  to 
work,  is  a  great  and  predisposing  cause  of  both  pauperism  and 
crime.  The  border  line  of  people  who  can  work,  and  do  work 
if  it  is  not  too  much  trouble,  is  shown  during  periods  of  indus- 
trial depression,  when  crime  of  almost  all  grades  is  increased 
in  volume.  Could  we  have  annual  statements  of  the  convic- 
tions in  all  our  States,  so  that  such  statements  might  be  con- 
sulted relative  to  economic  conditions,  we  should  find  a 


366  Criminology.  £§  194 

co-ordination  of  results  that  would  be  startling.  We  should 
find  that  the  lines  of  crime  rise  and  fall  as  the  prosperity  of 
the  country  falls  and  rises.  Competition  for  work  throws  out 
the  weaker  elements  in  the  industrial  system,  drives  them  to 
necessity,  increases  the  want,  and  decreases  the  means  of  its 
satisfaction.  Larceny,  burglary,  and  all  the  forms  of  theft 
come  into  play,  and  the  volume  of  crime  increases.  The 
cessation  of  labour  makes  tramps ;  again,  crime  is  the  result, 
and  the  criminal  statistics  swell  into  columns  that  make  us 
believe  our  social  fabric  is  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  Dr.  Schaffle, 
in  his  excellent  work  on  the  "  Impossibility  of  Social  De- 
mocracy," says :  "  We  cannot  do  enough  in  the  endeavour 
to  abate  and  avoid  the  misery  of  these  trade  stoppages :  it 
hangs  like  the  sword  of  Damocles  over  the  heads  of  non- 
propertied  labourers ;  it  embitters  the  existence  of  every  one 
of  them  who  reflects  and  who  has  the  care  and  nurture  of  a 
family  to  provide  for."  Ignorance  of  work,  the  lack  of  some 
technical  training,  prevents  the  mobilisation  of  labour,  and 
leads  men  with  a  weak  conscience  to  commit  crime. 

A  fruitful  cause  of  crime,  hinted  at  by  good  Dr.  Watts  in  his 
"Satan  finds  Some  Mischief  Still,"  is  idleness,  whether  in- 
duced by  economic  conditions,  or  by  a  lack  of  inclination  to 
work,  or  by  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  how  to  work.  Such  condi- 
tions aggravate  and  irritate  and  drive  men  to  criminal  courses ; 
the  idle  man's  brain  is,  indeed,  the  devil's  own  workshop.  Poli- 
tical economy,  which  has  dealt  so  largely  with  the  acquisition 
of  wealth,  must,  sooner  or  later,  deal  with  other  features  of 
wealth,  and  teach  the  world  what  conditions  will  largely  relieve 
society  of  crime,  or  largely  lead  to  a  reduction  of  its  volume, 
through  teaching  the  power  of  moral  forces  in  the  adjustment 
of  industrial  forces. 

195.   Crime  and  the  Labour  Problem. 

The  presence  of  crime  works  a  direct  injury  upon  the  wel- 
fare of  the  workingman  in  many  ways.  It  costs  him  more  to 
live  because  of  it;  it  disturbs  his  sense  of  justice,  because  the 


§  IPS]        Relation  to  Labour  Problem.         367 

convict  may  be  at  work  at  the  same  occupation  which  furnishes 
his  support ;  but  while  the  labour  reformer  cries  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  convict  labour,  the  real  interests  of  labour  cry  for  the  re- 
duction of  the  number  of  criminals  by  the  prevention  of  crime, 
as  the  surest  and  most  permanent  remedy  for  whatever  evils 
may  grow  out  of  the  practice  of  employing  convicts  in  produc- 
tive labour.  To  some  degree  it  is  true  that  society  makes  crim- 
inals, for  three-fourths  of  the  crime  committed  is  by  young  men 
who  are  temporarily  led  astray ;  and  the  fact  that  fifty  per  cent 
of  all  the  convicts  in  the  States  prisons  of  the  United  States 
are  under  twenty-six  years  of  age,  only  confirms  the  estimate. 
These  accidental  criminals  we  make  into  positive  convicts,  to 
be  fed  upon  the  production  of  men  outside.  What  we  need 
is  not  only  wise  and  effective  legislation,  backed  by  adequate 
administration,  but  a  sound  public  sentiment  which  will  over- 
look small  faults,  but  which  will  not  hesitate  when  necessary  to 
apply  that  punishment  which  is  most  dreaded  by  the  offender, 
by  making  all  violation  of  law,  all  habitual  crime,  obviously, 
inevitably,  and  instantly  a  losing  game.  We  look  forward,  as 
Francis  A.  Walker  puts  it,  to  the  time  when  the  distribution 
of  wealth  and  its  use  shall  receive  both  from  the  statesman 
and  the  economist  the  same  sedulous  attention  which  is  now 
concentrated  exclusively  upon  its  acquisition. 

Another  group  of  causes  of  crime  are  insanitary  conditions, 
and  all  that  works  a  deterioration  in  the  health  of  people. 
Bad  air,  bad  housing,  bad  drainage,  lead  to  intemperance  and 
want ;  it  requires  no  argument  to  show  that  these  are  pre- 
cursors of  crime.  And  it  is  perfectly  deducible  from  known 
facts  that  any  occupation  which  insures  a  high  rate  of  mortal- 
ity among  the  children  of  its  participants  tends  to  conditions 
most  favourable  to  the  prevalence  of  pauperism  and  crime. 

The  displacement  of  labour  through  the  application  of 
improved  machinery  temporarily  produces  for  the  individual 
a  condition  of  want  which  may  or  may  not  be  remedied  for 
him  by  the  increased  labour  demanded  through  invention. 
Society  can  be  easily  recompensed  by  the  benefits  which 


368  Criminology.  [§195 

come  to  it  through  inventive  genius ;  but  the  good  of  society 
is  a  poor  answer  to  the  man  who  finds  the  means  of  support- 
ing his  family  taken  from  him.  Nevertheless,  with  the  prog- 
ress of  invention  and  the  consequent  elevation  of  labour,  both 
pauperism  and  crime,  so  far  as  society  is  concerned,  have 
correspondingly  decreased.  This  is  true  in  more  senses  than 
one.  The  age  of  invention,  or  periods  given  to  the  develop- 
ment and  practical  adaptation  of  natural  laws,  raises  all  peo- 
ples to  a  higher  intellectual  level,  to  a  more  comprehensive 
understanding  of  the  world's  march  of  progress. 

But  the  double  question  of  the  removal  of  poverty  and  the 
suppression  of  crime  is  not  wholly  with  the  workingman  ;  the 
employer  has  as  much  to  learn  as  he,  and  he  is  to  be  holden 
to  equal,  if  not  greater,  responsibility.  Insomuch  as  the  profits 
of  labour  are  equitably  shared  with  labour,  insomuch  is  poverty 
lessened  ;  and  insomuch  as  poverty  is  lessened,  insomuch  is 
crime  decreased.  The  employer  should  always  remember 
that  if  conditions  become  ameliorated,  if  life  becomes  less  a 
struggle,  if  leisure  be  obtained,  civilisation,  as  a  general  rule, 
advances  in  the  scale.  If  these  conditions  be  reversed,  "  if 
the  struggle  for  existence  tends  to  occupy  the  whole  attention 
of  each  man,  civilisation  disappears  in  a  measure,"  communi- 
ties become  dangerous,  and  the  people  seek  a  revolutionary 
change,  hoping  by  chance  to  secure  what  was  not  possible  by 
honest  labour. 

In  a  state  in  which  labour  had  all  its  rights  there  would  be, 
of  course,  little  pauperism  and  little  crime.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  undue  subjection  of  the  labouring  man  must  tend  to 
make  paupers  and  criminals,  and  entails  a  financial  burden 
upon  wealth  which  it  would  have  been  easier  to  prevent  than 
to  endure  ;  and  this  prevention  must  come  in  a  large  degree 
through  educated  labour. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  crime  is  a  necessary  accom- 
paniment of  the  industrial  system.  Our  sober,  indust:ious 
working  men  and  women  are  as  free  from  vicious  and  criminal 
courses  as  any  other  class ;  the  volume  of  crime  is  found  out- 


§  195]         Relation  to  Labour  Problem.         369 

side  the  real  ranks  of  industry.  Infinitely  superior  as  the 
modern  system  is  over  that  which  has  passed,  the  iron  law  of 
wages,  when  enforced  with  an  iron  hand,  keeps  some  men  in 
the  lowest  ranks  of  life,  and  often  on  the  verge  of  starvation. 
As  intelligence  increases  and  is  more  generally  diffused,  the 
individual  man  desires  more,  has  higher  aspirations  for  himself 
and  his  family;  but  under  the  iron  law  of  wages,  all  these 
desires  and  aspiiations  are  hard  to  satisfy.  Under  the  modern 
system  there  is  mental  friction ;  a  competition  of  mind  in- 
stead of  mere  muscular  competition,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  laggard  in  the  industrial  race  may  lose  his  conscience  and 
develop  into  the  criminal ;  the  economic  condition  or  environ- 
ment of  such  a  man  leads  him  inevitably  to  crime.  But 
system  gives  way  to  system,  and  the  present  industrial  order 
will  be  superseded  by  one  vastly  superior  to  it.  As  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  wage  system  reduces  crime  and  its  attendant 
evils,  so  that  which  is  to  come  will  still  further  benefit  the 
human  race  ethically  and  economically. 

Can  it  be  possible  that  more  civilisation  means  more  crime  ? 
Yes,  and  no.  For  a  time,  under  improved  civilisation,  under 
improved  mechanical  methods,  and  under  the  march  of  inven- 
tion, competition  is  mental  to  a  larger  degree  than  under  the 
simpler  methods  and  cruder  civilisation.  The  residuum  of 
society  is  more  easily  observed  and  more  thoroughly  claims 
the  attention  of  philanthropists  and  of  legislators ;  but  to  say 
that  more  civilisation  means  more  poverty  and  more  crime 
is  in  every  sense  untruthful. 

All  these  considerations  lead  us  to  weigh  well  the  remedies 
for  social  disorders.  Trade  instruction,  technical  education, 
manual  training,  —  all  these  are  efficient  elements  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  crime,  because  they  all  help  to  better  and  truer  eco- 
nomic conditions.  Beyond  these  the  principles  of  solution 
are  clearly  discernible,  — justice  to  labour;  equitable  distribu- 
tion of  profits  under  some  system  which  must,  in  the  nature  ot 
things,  supersede  the  present  regime,  without  resorting  to 
socialism,  which  is  revolution ;  instruction  in  trades  by  which 


37°  Criminology.  [§  195 

a  man  can  earn  his  living  outside  a  penal  institution ;  the 
practical  application  of  the  great  moral  law  in  all  business 
relations.  All  these  elements,  with  the  more  enlightened  treat- 
ment of  the  criminal  when  apprehended,  will  lead  to  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  volume  of  crime,  but  not  to  the  millennium ;  for 
"  human  experience  from  time  immemorial  tells  us  that  the 
earth  neither  was,  nor  is,  nor  ever  will  be  a  heaven,  nor  yet 
a  hell ;  "  but  the  endeavour  of  right-minded  men  and  women, 
the  endeavour  of  every  government,  should  be  to  make  it  less 
a  hell  and  more  a  heaven. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE   PUNISHMENT   OF   CRIME. 

196.    References. 

Same  references  as  in  preceding  chapter;  also  U.  S.  Commissioner 
of  Labour,  Second  Annual  Report,  and  Bulletin  No.  5 ;  reports  of 
prison  commissioners  and  superintendents  of  prisons  for  States  of  New 
York  and  Massachusetts ;  Edward  L.  Pell,  Prevention  of  Lyiichings,  in 
A\'view  of  Revinvs,  XVII.  321  (March,  1898);  George  W.  Cable,  Silent 
South  (chapter  on  convict  lease  system);  Abraham  Lincoln,  Works,  I. 
11-12  (remarks  on  lynching)  ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Prison  Labor,  in  North 
American  Review,  CLXIV.  273  (March,  1897);  and  in  proceedings  of 
National  Prison  Assn.,  1899;  report  of  U.  S.  Industrial  Commission, 
Vol.  XIX. 

197.     Classification   of  Punishment. 

Penology  is  the  science  which  treats  of  public  punishments 
as  they  respect  the  public  and  the  sufferer.  In  its  broadest 
sense,  it  relates  to  all  matters  concerning  prison  life  and  the 
treatment  and  employment  of  convicts,  as  contradistinguished 
from  criminology,  which  relates  to  the  causes  of  crime.  In 
defending  itself  against  the  inroads  of  the  criminal,  society  has 
instituted  many  forms  of  punishment,  and  through  the  criminal 
codes  has  defined  what  constitutes  a  crime  and  the  method  of 
punishing  it. 

Crimes  are  divided  into  two  general  classes,  —  felonies, 
comprehending  all  crimes  punishable  by  death  or  imprison- 
ment in  the  State  prison ;  and  misdemeanours,  comprehending 
every  offence  inferior  to  felony.  The  term  "  misdemeanour" 
is  also  applied  to  all  those  crimes  and  offences  for  which  the 
law  has  not  provided  a  particular  name,  and  is  generally  used 
in  contradistinction  to  felony. 

The  criminal  codes  of  foreign  countries  and  of  the  States 
of  our  own  country  are  so  varied  in  their  definitions  and  re- 
quirements that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  any  intelligent 

371 


372  Punishment.  [§  197 

classification.  Each  code  has  been  borrowed  in  whole  01  in 
part  from  existing  codes,  the  modifications  being  made  to  suit 
the  particular  conditions  of  the  communities  where  they  are  to 
be  applied,  or  the  views  of  their  framers.  Certain  it  is  that 
no  two  codes  agree  throughout  either  in  their  definitions  of 
crime  or  in  the  penalties  prescribed  for  particular  offences. 

Punishments  may  be  classified  in  six  types,  —  first,  death  ; 
second,  imprisonment  only ;  third,  fine  only ;  fourth,  fine  or 
imprisonment ;  fifth,  both  fine  and  imprisonment ;  sixth,  fine 
or  imprisonment,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment.  Almost 
universally  capital  crimes  are  punished  by  either  death  or  im- 
prisonment for  life  or  for  a  very  long  term  of  years,  according 
to  the  character  of  the  crime,  murder  in  the  first  degree  being 
almost  everywhere  punishable  by  death,  although  some  States 
have  modified  the  penalty  to  imprisonment  for  life.  Murder 
in  less  degree  than  the  first  is  usually  punishable  by  imprison- 
ment for  life,  while  homicide  may  be  punished  by  a  term  of 
years. 

Considering  other  felonies  and  misdemeanours,  the  punish- 
ment varies  far  more  than  the  definitions  of  the  crimes ;  for 
instance,  the  maximum  penalty  for  perjury  in  one  State  is  a 
fine,  in  some  States  five  years'  imprisonment,  and  in  still  others 
imprisonment  for  life ;  in  one  it  is  death  if  through  the  per- 
jury the  testimony  causes  the  execution  of  an  innocent  person. 
In  one  State  perjury  is  punishable  by  fine  without  imprison- 
ment. The  maximum  penalty  for  bigamy  ranges  in  this 
country  from  one  to  twenty-one  years'  imprisonment.  For 
arson  of  a  building,  not  a  dwelling,  during  the  day,  the  penalty 
in  some  States  is  imprisonment  for  four  years,  and  in  others  it 
is  death ;  while  the  maximum  penalty  for  arson  of  an  occu- 
pied dwelling  by  night  in  some  States  is  imprisonment  for  ten 
years,  and  in  others  death.  The  penalty  for  grand  larceny 
varies  from  two  to  twenty  years'  imprisonment,  and  for  forgery, 
from  three  years  to  imprisonment  for  life.  These  instances 
show  the  difficulty  of  any  classification  which  shall  be  general 
in  its  application,  and  they  show,  further,  as  already  intimated, 


§  197]  Classification.  373 

the  great  difficulty  in  comparing  the  crime  of  one  locality  with 
that  of  another  through  the  statistical  method. 

In  older  civilisations  than  our  own,  the  criminal  codes  are 
usually  uniform  throughout  the  land,  though  the  penalty  of 
England  is  different  from  that  of  Scotland.  In  the  Empire  of 
Germany  there  is  a  single  criminal  code.  In  our  own  country, 
whose  size  and  strength  have  been  the  subject  of  constant 
accretions,  involving  all  stages  accompanying  the  development 
of  society,  not  only  are  the  codes  as  varied  as  the  conditions, 
but  the  prevalence  of  crime  is  equally  disproportionate.  The 
student  of  criminal  law,  or  one  wishing  to  ascertain  what  pun- 
ishments accompany  certain  offences,  must  necessarily  study 
the  local  codes. 

One  thing,  however,  may  be  noted  with  reference  to  all 
American  codes ;  they  all,  with  slight  exceptions,  have  aban- 
doned the  old  system  of  torture  which  characterised  mediaeval 
and  later  codes.  Down  to  the  French  Revolution  the  ordinary 
method  of  execution  was  breaking  on  the  wheel,  which  was  as 
painful  as  crucifixion  ;  in  Russia  the  knout  was  used  as  an 
official  punishment  till  a  few  years  ago,  and  running  the  gant- 
let is  still  in  vogue.  To  the  honour  of  English  criminal  law,  it 
never  authorised  torture  to  exact  testimony;  but  the  pillory 
and  whipping-post  were  really  instruments  of  torture,  and  were 
imported  into  the  colonies  in  America.  The  experience  of 
mankind  has  been  that  the  torture  of  human  nerves  brutalises 
the  criminal  and  the  community ;  and  flogging,  the  last  rem- 
nant of  a  cruel  system,  has  about  disappeared  as  a  legalised 
punishment.  There  are  still  cases  of  the  authorised  whipping 
of  convicts,  especially  in  the  South  and  in  Delaware  ;  and  in 
the  Southern  prison  camps  such  cruelty  and  despair  as  used  to 
go  with  slavery  under  bad  masters  sometimes  exist,  although 
communities  are  becoming  awakened  to  the  need  of  reform. 

Of  late  years  there  has  been  introduced  what  is  called  the 
system  of  indeterminate  sentences,  with  a  view  to  securing  the 
reformation  of  the  criminal.  Where  this  system  prevails,  the 
courts  are  authorised,  especially  in  New  York,  to  use  their  dis- 


374  Punishment.  [§  197 

cretion  in  sentencing  a  criminal  to  the  reformatory  institutions, 
leaving  the  term  of  imprisonment  to  the  governor  of  the 
prison,  he  to  determine  when  the  person  sentenced  is  fit  to 
be  returned  to  society.  This  system  is  on  trial  and  is  de- 
fended by  penologists  in  many  cases,  and  it  is  believed  it  will 
result  in  the  reformation  of  a  larger  proportion  of  criminals 
than  the  old  system  of  sentencing  them  for  a  certain  number 
of  years,  and  then  returning  them  to  society  without  reference 
to  their  moral  condition.  The  effect  of  good  conduct  and  of 
pardons  in  reducing  the  length  of  sentences  is  a  practical 
application  of  the  principle  underlying  the  indeterminate  sen- 
tence. Everywhere  good  conduct  works  a  reduction  of  the 
term  of  sentence ;  while  the  executive  power,  for  good  and 
sufficient  reasons,  may  pardon  a  convict,  thus  restoring  him 
to  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  of  which  he  would  have  been 
deprived  had  he  worked  out  his  entire  sentence.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts  recently  has  made  a  decision 
involving  the  constitutionality  of  a  law  of  that  State  providing 
for  indeterminate  sentences. 

198.  Lynchings. 

When  a  wild  territory  is  suddenly  occupied  and  the  pioneers 
flock  to  it,  especially  for  the  purpose  of  settlement,  and  society 
has  not  had  time  or  opportunity  to  organise  its  forces  of  law, 
the  people  of  the  district  often  establish  a  temporary  govern- 
ment, through  vigilance  committees  or  officers  of  their  own 
selection.  Such  was  the  case  in  California  from  1848  to  1856. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  individual  members  feel  the 
necessity  (which  all  society  feels  at  any  stage)  of  defending 
itself  against  the  depredations  of  the  evil-disposed,  and 
especially  against  thieves.  In  such  cases  vigilance  committees 
constitute  government.  Their  methods  must  necessarily  be 
arbitrary,  and  their  decrees  enforced  with  punctuality.  Men 
are  hanged  or  exiled  on  the  briefest  and  simplest  trial.  These 
things  would  be  crimes  in  themselves  almost,  if  done  in  a  civil- 
ised community ;  but  in  a  concrete  organisation  at  the  begin- 


§  198]  Lynchings.  375 

ning  of  society  they  are  methods  in  the  interest  of  law  and 
order. 

The  next  step  is,  however,  the  establishment  of  what  is 
called  lynch  law,  which  is  defined  as  the  practice  of  trying 
and  punishing  men  by  unauthorised  persons,  without  due 
process  of  law,  and  in  violation  of  the  right  of  the  proper 
legal  authorities  to  bring  alleged  offenders  to  trial  for  the 
crimes  and  offences  with  which  they  are  charged.  In  times 
of  especial  turbulence  and  disorder,  when  the  duly  constituted 
legal  authorities  are  powerless  to  enforce  the  laws,  there  may 
be  some  justification  for  a  resort  to  lynch  law,  but  ordinarily  it 
is  an  unmixed  evil.  The  legal  safeguards  which  serve  to  pro- 
tect an  innocent  man  from  unjust  conviction  are  almost  invari- 
ably disregarded,  and  the  excitement  and  passion  under  which 
the  self-constituted  judges  usually  labour  render  conviction 
almost  a  certainty  in  all  cases,  and  often  result  in  the  inflic- 
tion of  inhuman  cruelties  by  way  of  punishment.  Above  all, 
they  accustom  communities  to  rely  on  these  irregular  methods 
after  they  have  well-constituted  courts. 

Hence  lynchings  occur  even  in  communities  that  claim  a 
fairly  high  standard  of  civilisation ;  they  occur  even  in  our 
older  States,  without  the  excuse  of  conditions  which  accom- 
pany the  settlement  of  wild  territory.  There  are  no  official 
and  no  private  statistics  of  lynchings  that  can  be  used  with  the 
utmost  confidence,  although  it  is  probably  within  the  truth  to 
say  that  during  the  last  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  over  2,800 
persons  have  been  lynched  in  the  United  States.  The  extent 
of  the  practice  is  shown  by  the  investigation  of  Dr.  Edward  L. 
Pell :  - 

"  According  to  the  statistics  prepared  by  the  '  Chicago  Tribune  ' 
and  recently  given  wide  publicity,  166  persons  (122  negroes,  39 
whites,  and  5  Indians)  were  lynched  in  the  United  States  last  year, 
—  20  in  the  North  and  146  in  the  South.  These  statistics  may  be 
easily  shown  to  be  unreliable,  yet  it  seems  impossible  to  get  at 
the  exact  figures.  The  authorities  in  communities  where  lynchings 
occur  are  not  always  careful  to  report  the  facts  to  the  chief  execu- 


376 


Punishment.  [§  198 


tive,  and  the  chief  executive  sometimes  grows  weary  trying  to 
keep  up  with  the  press  reporter.  It  is  perhaps  safe  to  say  that  the 
State  authorities  are  not  in  possession  of  all  the  facts,  but  it  is 
hardly  worth  while  to  look  for  more  reliable  information  from  any 
other  source.  In  the  'Tribune's'  statistics  for  1897,  Alabama  is 
credited  with  19  lynchings.  These  figures  were  accepted  without 
investigation  and  commented  upon  by  leading  Alabama  dailies,  and 
yet,  according  to  the  best  information  that  could  be  obtained  by  the 
executive  department  of  that  State,  the  estimate  is  too  large  by  14. 
The  same  statistics  credit  Virginia  with  5  lynchings  and  Florida 
with  12;  but  the  chief  executive  of  Florida  has  information  of  only 
6,  and  I  am  sure  that  in  Virginia  there  have  been  but  3  in  the  past 
four  years.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose,  however,  that  the  total 
lynchings  for  the  year  1897  fell  much  below  the  average." 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  by  the  legislatures  of 
some  of  our  States  to  prevent  the  practice  of  lynching.  South 
Carolina  has  a  law  making  the  county  in  which  lynching  occurs 
liable  in  exemplary  damages  of  not  less  than  $2,000,  to  be 
recovered  by  the  legal  representatives  of  the  person  lynched, 
while  recommendations  have  been  sent  to  other  legislatures 
for  a  law  requiring  the  county  in  which  lynching  occurs  to  pay 
into  the  State  treasury  a  large  sum  of  money  for  the  benefit  of 
the  public-school  fund.  Attempts  have  also  been  made  to 
secure  the  enforcement  of  law  by  providing  that  an  officer 
who  allows  a  prisoner  to  be  taken  from  him  by  a  mob  and 
injured  or  put  to  death  shall  be  guilty  of  misdemeanour  and 
punishable  accordingly.  Several  States  have  laws  or  reconv 
mendations  for  laws  requiring  an  officer  in  charge  of  a  pris- 
oner to  unshackle  him  under  certain  conditions,  arm  him,  and 
give  him  an  opportunity  to  defend  himself.  Little  or  nothing 
has  been  done  by  way  of  the  conviction  of  the  lynchers  them- 
selves. It  is  a  very  difficult  problem,  and  one  which  has 
called  for  the  very  closest  consideration  of  the  chief  magis- 
trates of  those  States  where  lynchings  are  most  frequent. 

Lynchings  have  been  sometimes  prevented  through  the 
courage  and  patriotism  of  the  governor,  as  instanced  in  the 
State  of  Virginia,  where  during  a  period  of  fourteen  years 


§198]  Lynchings.  377 

sixty-two  lynchings  had  occurred ;  but  during  the  four  years 
of  one  administration  there  were  but  three ;  and  the  effective 
restraint  was  nothing  but  the  declaration  that  mob  violence 
must  cease,  and  the  determination  of  law-abiding  citizens  to 
back  the  governor  in  carrying  out  the  declaration. 

The  remedies  for  this  humiliating  state  of  things  are  summed 
up  by  Dr.  Pell,  as  follows  :  — 

"  Not  to  mention  the  special  legislation  that  may  be  needed  in  some 
of  the  States  to  secure  a  better  enforcement  of  the  laws  in  existence, 
these  six  things  ought  to  be  done  for  the  prevention  of  lynch-law 
epidemics  :  i.  Executive  officials  should  be  chosen  with  regard  for 
their  personal  courage.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  how  the  candidate 
stands  on  the  law ;  the  question  is  whether  he  can  be  depended  upon 
to  stand  by  the  law.  2.  The  intelligent  citizens  of  the  South  should 
individually  undertake  to  awaken  in  their  neighbours  a  higher  regard 
for  law.  3.  The  papers  of  the  two  sections  should  exchange  texts, 
and  the  Northern  press  should  preach  against  negro  crime,  and  the 
Southern  press  should  preach  against  lawlessness  and  race  preju- 
dice. The  good  that  has  been  already  accomplished  by  the  few 
papers  that  have  made  this  exchange  ought  to  encourage  the  rest 
to  follow  their  example.  4.  Southern  newspapers  should  omit  from 
their  news  columns  the  suggestive  details  of  lynchings  as  well  as 
the  inflammatory  details  of  assaults.  5.  The  higher  education  of 
negroes  should  be  pushed  with  a  view  to  supplying  the  demand  for 
capable  teachers  of  righteousness  for  the  race.  6.  The  South  should 
take  the  worthy  young  negro  by  the  hand  as  earnestly  as  the  mob 
has  taken  the  unworthy  negro  by  the  neck,  and  encourage  him  in 
all  high  endeavour,  that  the  race  may  not  be  without  salt  to  save  it." 

Lynching  is  a  confession  by  a  community  that  it  has  not 
confidence  in  its  own  legal  machinery,  and  one  reason  for  the 
practice  is  the  legal  quibbles  sometimes  allowed  by  courts ;  but 
there  are  cases  of  lynchings  of  convicted  criminals  awaiting 
execution.  No  writer  has  ever  better  set  forth  the  wrong  and 
the  danger  of  lynching  than  Abraham  Lincoln  in  one  of  his 
earliest  speeches,  in  which  he  discusses  the  operation  of 
mobocratic  spirit  resulting  in  the  effectual  breaking  down  and 
destruction  of  the  strongest  bulwark  of  our  government,  the 
attachment  of  the  people  :  — 


378 


Punishment.  [§  198 


"  Whenever  this  effect  shall  be  produced  among  us ;  whenever 
the  vicious  portion  of  population  shall  be  permitted  to  gather  in 
bands  of  hundreds  and  thousands,  and  burn  churches,  ravage  and 
rob  provision  stores,  throw  printing-presses  into  rivers,  shoot  editors, 
and  hang  and  burn  obnoxious  persons  at  pleasure  and  with  impunity 
—  depend  on  it,  this  government  cannot  last.  By  such  things  the 
feelings  of  the  best  citizens  will  become  more  or  less  alienated  from 
it,  and  thus  it  will  be  left  without  friends,  or  with  too  few,  and  those 
few  too  weak  to  make  their  friendship  effectual.  At  such  a  time, 
and  under  such  circumstances,  men  of  sufficient  talent  and  ambition 
will  not  be  wanting  to  seize  the  opportunity,  strike  the  blow,  and 
overturn  that  fair  fabric  which  for  the  last  century  has  been  the 
fondest  hope  of  the  lovers  of  freedom  throughout  the  world." 

199.    Prison  Labour  and  the  Reformation  of  Convicts. 

The  employment  of  convicts,  or  the  manufacture  of  goods 
in  prisons  by  convict  labour,  has  grown  to  be  a  very  irritating 
question  during  the  last  generation,  both  in  this  country  and 
abroad.  The  legislative  attempts  to  regulate  prison  labour  in 
the  United  States  are  fairly  representative  of  those  in  other 
countries.  The  first  idea  was  to  abolish  prison  labour  entirely, 
and  it  took  many  severe  moral  conflicts  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century  and  the  first  half  of  this  to  overcome  the  old  custom 
of  keeping  prisoners  idle  or  compelling  them  to  work  at  what 
is  called  penal  labour ;  that  is,  turning  a  crank  or  running  a 
treadmill.  With  the  abandonment  of  this  system,  the  employ- 
ment of  convicts  in  the  manufacture  of  goods,  and  the  conse- 
quent competition  of  such  goods  with  those  made  outside, 
attempts  have  been  made  to  regulate  the  manufacture  and  sale 
of  prison-made  goods.  In  some  States  law  has  provided  that  all 
prison-made  goods  should  be  stamped  as  such,  with  the  name 
of  the  prison  where  made,  but  little  or  nothing  has  been  accom- 
plished. More  recently  attempts  have  been  made  to  prevent 
the  sale  of  goods  made  in  one  State  or  country  in  the  markets 
of  another.  So  far  as  the  United  States  is  concerned,  this  has 
been  a  violation  of  the  right  of  Congress  to  regulate  commerce 
between  the  States,  and  has  generally  been  abandoned. 

While  reports  have  been  made  in  late  years  covering  some 


§199]  Prison  Labour.  379 

features  of  prison  labour,  the  most  recent  statement  for  the  whole 
country  as  to  the  relation  of  the  earnings  of  State  prisons  to  the 
expense  of  running  and  maintaining  them  fully  is  for  1885,  as 
given  in  the  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  United  States  Com- 
missioner of  Labour.  At  that  time,  taking  all  the  institutions  of 
the  country  into  account,  whether  conducted  under  one  system 
or  another,  the  total  labour  income  was  forty-nine  per  cent  of 
the  running  expenses,  and  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  total  ex- 
penses. By  "  total  expenses  "  is  meant  all  expenses  for  repairs, 
construction,  etc.,  beyond  the  purely  current  running  expenses. 
If  the  expenses  and  income  under  the  lease  system,  which  has 
been  a  source  of  profit,  be  eliminated,  the  labour  income  under 
all  other  systems  was  forty-six  per  cent  of  the  running  expenses 
and  thirty-two  per  cent  of  the  total  expenses.  Therefore,  while 
here  and  there  a  prison  has  been  made  to  pay,  in  the  sense  of 
bringing  into  the  treasury  more  money  than  was  taken  out  of 
it,  the  rule  is,  and  has  been  for  many  years,  practically  as  shown 
in  the  federal  report  cited.  At  the  present  time  the  proportion 
of  expenses  paid  out  of  the  receipts  from  prison  labour  is  less, 
undoubtedly,  than  ten  years  ago. 

The  objection  to  the  system  is  not  that  the  convicts  work, 
but  that  the  results  of  the  labour  of  those  who  require  only  food, 
clothing,  and  shelter  tend  to  reduce  the  wages  of  the  labourer. 
In  1885,  the  total  product  (that  is,  the  value  of  the  goods  after 
the  materials  have  been  manipulated  by  the  prisoners)  of  all 
the  penal  institutions  amounted  to  $28,753,999,  which  was 
about  one  one-hundred-and-eighty-fifth  of  the  total  value  of  the 
products  of  the  manufacturing  industries  of  the  country  in  1880  • 
while  the  total  product  of  the  higher  penal  institutions  only, 
that  is,  prisons  of  the  grade  of  State  penitentiaries,  was 
$24,271,078,  equivalent  to  about  one  two-hundred-and-twenty- 
secondth  of  the  total  value  of  all  manufactured  products  in  1880. 
In  1895  the  total  product  of  the  higher  penal  institutions  only 
in  the  United  States  was  $19,042,472,  which  was  but  one  five- 
hundredth  of  the  total  value  of  the  products  of  the  manufactur- 
ing industries  of  the  United  States  in  1890. 


380  Punishment.  [§199 

From  a  wage  point  of  view,  the  labour  of  convicts  in  1885, 
from  which  resulted  a  product  of  the  value  of  $28,753,999, 
amounted  to  only  $3,512,970,  or  $i  of  convict-labour  wages  to 
$8.19  of  finished  product  of  the  labour  of  convicts.  The  ratio 
at  the  present  time  is  probably  less.  The  total  value  of  the 
labour  expended  by  the  convicts  in  the  State  penitentiaries  and 
prisons  of  like  grade  at  the  present  time  does  not  much  exceed 
$2,500,000,  or  a  little  more  than  one-thousandth  of  the  total 
wages  paid  in  the  manufacturing  industries  of  the  country  in 
1890. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  whether  the  State  treasury  is  con- 
sidered or  the  competition  with  labour  taken  into  account,  the 
prison  labour  question,  from  a  purely  economic  point  of  view, 
need  not  excite  much  attention.  It  is  perfectly  true  that  here 
and  there  the  products  of  prison  labour  enter  into  sharp  but 
very  brief  competition  with  goods  made  outside,  and  the  fear 
that  prices  may  be  lowered  and  wages  affected  injuriously  by 
throwing  prison-made  goods  on  the  market  is  thus  created. 
In  the  many  investigations  which  have  been  made  in  rela- 
tion to  the  prison  labour  question,  few  instances  have  been 
found  where  prices  have  been  affected  in  the  least,  and  rarely 
a  case  where  wages  have  been  lowered  in  consequence  of  the 
employment  of  convicts  in  productive  industry.  Nevertheless, 
the  moral  effect  of  the  supposed  competition,  and  of  whatever 
real  competition  may  have  occurred,  has  been  sufficient  to  create 
a  demand  in  nearly  all  the  States  of  the  Union  for  some  regula- 
tion of  the  employment  of  convicts  under  which  competition 
can  be  entirely  or  largely  removed,  and  for  the  last  twenty  years 
or  more  political  platforms  have  often  contained  a  paradoxical 
plank  demanding  that  convicts  should  be  employed,  not  only 
as  a  matter  of  health,  but  as  a  source  of  revenue  to  the  State, 
but  in  such  a  way  as  to  relieve  honest  industry  of  competition. 
It  is  an  absolute  impossibility  to  prevent  competition  if  convicts 
are  to  be  employed  in  any  way  whatever.  It  must  be  admitted 
by  all  sane  men  that  they  should  be  employed  and  constantly 
employed  upon  intelligent  labour.  The  problem,  therefore,  so 


§  2oo]  Ethics  of  Prison  Labour.  381 

far  as  the  economics  of  the  question  is  concerned,  is  either  to 
reduce  the  competition  to  the  lowest  point  or  to  manufacture 
goods  in  such  a  way  and  under  such  conditions  that  prices  and 
wages  can  in  no  sense  be  affected.  This  is  the  whole  of  the 
economic  side  of  the  question  from  the  productive  point 
of  view. 

200.    The  Ethics  of  Prison  Labour. 

The  ethical  side  of  the  problem  is  far  more  important,  not 
only  in  the  interest  of  the  community  at  large,  but  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  wage-earners.  It  is  also  the  more  important  side 
of  the  question  when  the  prisoner  himself  is  considered.  No 
State,  under  the  ethical  aspect  of  government,  has  any  right 
to  expect  to  make  profit,  or  to  permit  contractors  to  do  so, 
out  of  the  labour  of  prisoners,  when  this  profit  is  at  the  ex- 
pense of  their  reformation.  No  man  with  a  particle  of  human- 
ity in  him  would  for  a  moment  demand  that  prisoners  should 
be  employed  in  the  old,  cruel,  and  barbarous  systems  known 
as  penal  labour,  such  as  running  a  treadmill  or  turning  a  crank. 
The  revolt  from  these  methods,  however,  carried  prison  re- 
formers to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  they  assumed  that  men 
in  prison  should  be  set  at  work  at  the  same  industries  and 
under  the  same  methods  existing  outside  of  prisons. 

Their  position  was  plausible,  their  theory  fine  and  probably 
sound  if  it  had  been  possible  to  reduce  it  to  practice,  but  the 
reformatory  elements  came  in  to  defeat  their  purely  theoretical 
plans,  and  it  is  now  considered  by  intelligent  penologists  that 
the  whole  system  of  prison  labour  should  be  adapted  to  the 
reformation  of  men. 

In  the  address  of  Dr.  Brush 1  it  is  stated  that  "  all  men 
of  a  scientific  turn  of  mind  who  have  made  a  study  of  crimi- 
nal anthropology  are  fast  approaching  the  physicians'  position 
regarding  such  questions.  Every  criminal  is  more  or  less  a 
diseased  portion  of  the  body  politic ;  but  the  notion  of  pun- 

1  Presidential  address  delivered  before  the  Society  of  Medical  Juris 
prudence  at  its  annual  meeting,  held  January  13,  1896. 


382  Punishment.  [§200 

ishment  should  not  complicate  the  judgment  in  deciding  what 
disposition  is  to  be  made  in  either  case.  The  insane  were 
formerly  regarded  with  feelings  of  hatred  and  vindictiveness, 
but  to-day  this  is  only  a  shameful  recollection."  It  might  be 
added  that  the  notion  of  making  profits  out  of  the  diseased 
members  of  the  body  politic  should  be  relegated  to  the  regions 
of  shameful  recollection. 

The  prisoner  must  be  approached  now  from  the  physician's 
point  of  view.  The  convict  is  a  morally  sick  man,  and  so- 
ciety's rights  and  duties  are  limited  to  his  cure,  or  if  incurable, 
to  such  treatment  as  shall  not  debase  him.  This  is  the  attitude 
of  the  public  toward  the  mentally  and  physically  ill,  and  why 
it  should  not  be,  to  a  certain  degree,  the  attitude  toward  the 
morally  ill  is  a  question  that  will  be  discussed  more  in  the 
future  than  it  has  been  in  the  past.  This  being  the  case,  he 
should  be  treated  in  all  respects  in  such  a  way  as  to  develop 
his  blunted  moral  and  intellectual  faculties.  It  is  this  position 
which  makes  the  return  to  purely  penal  labour  absolutely  im- 
possible under  modern  thought.  Our  civilisation  will  not 
tolerate  it ;  but  in  assuming  this  attitude  the  rights  of  others 
should  be  as  carefully  guarded  as  the  rights  of  the  prisoner. 

201.     Systems  of  Prison  Labour. 

The  various  systems  which  have  been  adopted  have  thus  far 
proved  ineffective  from  the  ethical  and  unsatisfactory  from  the 
economic  point  of  view.  The  contract  system  is  the  most 
profitable  one  which  can  be  applied  to  prison  labour,  but  the 
necessary  presence  of  the  contractor  and  his  men  in  the  pris- 
ons and  among  the  convicts  has  been  found  to  work  disad- 
vantageously  when  reformatory  measures  were  being  carried 
along  at  the  same  time.  The  piece-price  plan  was  thought  to 
be  a  remedy  for  the  evils  of  the  contract  system,  but  the  pris- 
oners themselves  soon  learned  that  their  labour  was  being 
exploited  for  the  profit  of  a  private  contractor  and  that  the 
State  was  getting  only  the  minimum  results.  The  public- 
account  system  was  then  resorted  to,  under  which  the  institu- 


§2oi]  Systems  of  Prison  Labour.  383 

tion  carries  on  the  business  of  manufacturing  like  a  private 
individual  or  firm,  buying  raw  materials  and  converting  them 
into  manufactured  articles,  which  are  sold  in  the  best  available 
market.  A  few  years  ago  many  labour  reformers  insisted  upon 
the  adoption  of  this  public-account  system,  on  the  ground  that 
all  profits  would  then  accrue  to  the  State  and  the  irritation 
resulting  from  the  contract  or  the  piece-price  system  be 
avoided.  The  contrary  proved  to  be  true.  Under  the  public- 
account  system  the  State  or  the  county  sold  goods  in  the  open 
market ;  but  the  State  could  not  fail,  and  therefore  it  was  not 
necessary  at  all  times  to  dispose  of  the  goods  even  at  cost. 
The  private  contractor,  in  order  to  preserve  his  solvency,  was 
obliged  to  get  back  at  least  the  cost  of  his  goods.  The  irrita- 
tion coming  from  competition  therefore  increased,  and  the 
public-account  system  was  found  to  be  inadequate  from  an 
economic  point  of  view,  although  it  had  some  advantages  from 
the  ethical  standpoint,  for  whatever  profit  was  derived  from 
labour  under  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  treasury.  The 
lease  system,  now  rapidly  going  out  of  vogue,  plays  no  part  in 
the  ethical  question  involved,  but  it  was  a  most  profitable  sys- 
tem to  the  States  which  employed  it.  The  abuses  under  it 
have  brought  it  into  disrepute. 

One  of  the  chief  objections  to  the  lease  system  is  that  the 
sum  paid  by  the  contractor  for  a  certain  amount  of  labour,  or 
for  labour  for  a  certain  amount  of  time,  is  much  less  than  the 
wages  paid  for  the  same  work  outside  the  prison,  or  outside 
of  the  prison  forces.  This  is  a  demoralising  interference 
with  the  stability  of  prices,  and  is  on  the  whole  thoroughly 
objectionable.  The  employment  of  convicts  in  road-making 
is  often  advocated  as  a  solution  of  the  convict-labour  problem. 
Under  some  circumstances  such  employment  is  carried  on 
justly;  the  chief  objection  to  it  is  the  expense  of  guarding  the 
bodies  of  prisoners,  and  the  demoralising  influences  which 
come  from  the  sight  of  convicts  at  work.  Much  could  be 
said  in  its  favour  in  building  roads  in  sparsely  settled  areas, 
thus  developing  the  means  of  intercommunication. 


Punishment.  [§  201 

There  is  now  a  system  of  labour,  which  is  advocated  very 
largely,  and  which  has  beeri  adopted  experimentally  in  twenty- 
four  States,  with  the  motive  behind  it  of  reducing  competition, 
or  practically  removing  all  competition.  Under  this  modified 
public-account  system,  goods  are  made  for  the  use  of  the 
State  itself  in  its  various  institutions,  whether  penal,  reforma- 
tory, or  eleemosynary,  on  the  theory  or  the  supposition  that  the 
State  needs  goods  enough  of  various  kinds  to  keep  its  prisoners 
practically  employed.  Should  this  prove  true,  the  new  method 
will  probably  be  a  solution  of  the  economic  problems  involved, 
while  the  ethical  demands  will  be  as  well  satisfied  as  under 
any  system  that  can  be  adopted.  Two  reasons  have  been 
advanced  why  this  method  may,  in  some  degree  at  least, 
prove  to  be  a  failure.  The  first  is  that  the  requirements  of 
the  States  adopting  it  can  be  supplied  through  the  labour  of 
only  a  portion  of  its  prisoners.  If  our  State  governments 
supported  large  bodies  of  troops  and  the  Federal  government 
had  a  large  standing  army,  the  plan  might  prove  to  be  ad- 
visable, although  in  some  European  countries,  where  the 
consumption  of  goods  of  the  coarser  grades,  such  as  shoes, 
army  clothing,  camp  equipage,  etc.,  is  very  large,  the  plan  has 
not  been  made  to  work  very  successfully,  for  the  reason  stated, 
and  because  of  the  objections  of  army  officers  to  the  manu- 
facture in  prisons  of  the  goods  they  require  for  the  equipment 
of  their  forces.  These  objections  arise  not  only  on  account 
of  the  quality  and  make  of  the  goods,  but  on  account  of  the 
impracticability  of  massing  a  force  in  any  way  so  as  to  supply 
goods  upon  emergencies. 

The  second  reason  why  the  manufacture  of  goods  for  the 
State  may  not  succeed  to  the  fullest  degree  anticipated  by  its 
advocates  has  been  pointed  out  by  Sir  Edmund  Du  Cane  in 
the  "  Nineteenth  Century"  for  October,  1896.  Although  that 
writer,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  experienced  in  the 
whole  world  on  the  subject  of  prisons  and  prison  labour, 
believes  in  this  method  of  employment,  he  very  frankly  points 
out  the  difficulty  arising  from  the  great  variety  of  patterns 


§202]          Solution  of  Prison  Labour.  385 

of  articles  to  be  made,  etc.  This,  perhaps,  may  be  the  least 
of  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  success  of  the  system.  He 
states  that,  however  desirable  industrial  labour  for  prisoners 
may  be  from  a  moral  point  of  view,  it  is  impossible  to  apply 
it  to  more  than  a  small  proportion  of  those  sentenced  to 
imprisonment,  both  on  account  of  the  law  applicable  to 
prisons  and  on  account  of  the  shortness  of  the  sentences  of 
the  large  majority.  He  thinks  the  difficulties  of  the  State- 
manufacture  method  are  of  much  the  same  kind  as  are  found 
in  utilising  convict  labour  for  the  construction  of  public 
works. 

202.     Solution  of  the  Prison  Labour  Question. 

Whatever  the  difficulties,  they  must  be  met  and  will  be  met, 
either  successfully  or  unsuccessfully,  in  the  interesting  experi- 
ment now  being  conducted  by  the  State  of  New  York.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  success  will  follow  such  experiment,  for 
while  the  manufacture  of  goods  for  the  use  of  the  State  does 
not  avoid  competition,  —  for  outside  manufacturers  will  be 
deprived  of  business  pro  tanto,  — •  the  element  of  price  is 
entirely  removed.  The  value  of  the  goods  made  cannot 
materially  affect  the  price  of  goods  manufactured  outside  of 
prisons,  nor  can  there  be  any  appreciable  influence  upon  the 
wages  paid  in  the  regular  industries  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Lathrop,  Superintendent  of  Prisons  for  the  State  of 
New  York,  wisely  insists,  as  do  all  right-minded  men,  that 
work  must  be  found  for  the  prisoners,  and  he  feels  that 
the  question  of  the  employment  of  convicts  is  practically  solved 
by  the  adoption  of  the  method  described.  Nevertheless, 
the  warden  of  Sing  Sing  has  adopted  some  measures 
which  he  thinks  may  be  applicable  for  furnishing  employment 
to  idle  prisoners,  and  is  following  some  of  the  methods 
adopted  at  the  Elmira  Reformatory,  the  so-called  "techno- 
logical university."  A  good  deal  has  been  said  of  late  against 
the  introduction  of  technological  studies  into  prison  life.  An 
examination  of  some  of  the  facts  pertaining  to  prisons,  however, 


386  Punishment.  [§202 

may  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  such  methods  are  wise  from 
every  point  of  view.  The  average  age  ,of  the  convicts  of  the 
United  States  is  not  far  from  twenty-six  years.  Therefore,  the 
men  constituting  this  body  are  undeveloped,  so  far  as  age  is 
concerned,  and  generally  undeveloped  in  their  moral  and 
intellectual  faculties.  Careful  classification  of  the  convicts  of 
the  country  shows  also  that  about  three-fourths  are  short- 
term  prisoners,  one-eighth  incorrigibles,  and  the  other  eighth, 
though  in  for  long  terms,  still  amenable  to  reformatory  efforts. 
It  cannot  make  very  much  difference  what  system  is  employed, 
so  that  prices  and  wages  are  not  affected,  when  the  short- 
term  men  are  considered.  There  is  not  much  to  be  gained, 
whether  in  the  interest  of  the  State,  or  of  the  community,  or 
of  the  convicts,  in  putting  them  at  work  under  one  system  of 
labour  as  against  another.  They  must  be  employed ;  their 
minds  must  be  occupied,  and  their  hands  utilised.  It  cannot, 
from  the  very  nature  of  things,  be  worth  while  for  the  State  to 
erect  costly  plants  for  the  sake  of  employing  them  under  one 
or  another  system  of  labour.  No  one  can  argue  with  reason 
that  the  short-term  prisoner  himself  is  to  be  particularly 
benefited  by  any  such  employment.  The  chief  point  to  be 
insisted  upon  is  that  his  labour  shall  not  be  debasing.  If  he 
can  be  employed  in  making  blankets,  furniture,  coarse  boots 
and  shoes,  and  the  infinite  variety  of  things  that  may  be 
needed  in  the  State  institutions,  without  the  introduction  of 
power  machinery,  not  only  the  State  will  be  the  gainer,  but 
also  the  prisoner  himself.  He  does  not  stay  in  prison  long 
enough,  as  a  rule,  to  be  taught  in  the  higher  methods  of 
manual  training,  and  what  little  he  can  learn  by  running  some 
machine  is  of  little  consequence  in  his  after  life.  If  he  stays 
long  enough  in  prison,  the  State  should  see  to  it  that  he  comes 
out  better  equipped  to  earn  a  living  than  when  he  entered  it. 

Looking  at  the  one-eighth  representing  the  incorrigibles, 
composed  of  men  who  should  never  be  returned  to  society 
under  any  circumstances  whatever,  —  men  of  purely  criminal 
minds,  released  from  prison  only  to  again  return  to  it,  —  it 


§202]  Solution  of  Prison  Labour.  387 

must  be  conceded  that  it  matters  little  what  method  or  system 
of  labour  is  employed,  so  long  as  they  are  kept  steadily  at  work 
in  the  interest  of  the  State,  and  in  labour  that  shall  not  debase 
them.  Crime  is  their  only  element,  and  the  whole  interest  of 
society  is  that  they  should  be  incarcerated  for  life.  It  cannot 
be  argued  reasonably  that  there  is  any  necessity,  in  any  direc- 
tion whatever,  of  employing  them  under  one  system  as  against 
another ;  they  should  be  kept  in  honourable  and  skilful  em- 
ployment ;  their  intellectual  and  moral  powers,  so  far  as  they 
are  susceptible  of  development,  should  be  strengthened,  and 
they  should  be  made  to  live  their  lives  in  an  orderly,  syste- 
matic, and  honourable  way.  If  they  can  be  kept  at  work 
making  goods  for  the  State,  that  is  the  very  best  thing  that 
can  be  done  with  them,  and  in  doing  this  they  may  learn  how 
to  use  their  minds  and  hands. 

The  incorrigibles  should  not  be  employed,  however,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  short-term  men,  nor  of  the  remaining  one- 
eighth,  which  may  be  called  the  reformable  portion.  This 
one- eighth  consists  largely  of  young  men  supposed  to  be  in 
prison  as  the  result  of  some  spree,  or  through  indiscreet  action, 
accident,  or  the  lack  "of  understanding  of  the  ways  we  call 
right  and  wrong.  They  are  not  supposed  to  have  become 
convicts  through  criminal  minds  or  through  tendencies  which 
they  prefer  to  retain.  Such  men  should  not  only  be  sentenced 
on  the  indeterminate  principle,  but  every  effort  which  the 
State  is  capable  of  making  should  be  made  to  bring  them  into 
harmonious  relation  with  law-abiding  citizens.  The  manufac- 
ture of  goods  for  the  State,  with  all  their  variety,  is  the  very 
best  work  on  which  this  reformable  body  can  be  employed. 
If  there  be  not  work  enough  to  keep  the  whole  body  of  prison- 
ers employed  steadily,  it  should  be  concentrated  upon  the 
incorrigibles  and  the  short-term  men,  while  the  reformable 
fraction  of  prisoners  should  be  given  the  benefits  of  the  train- 
ing which  Warden  Sage  proposed  to  introduce  at  Sing  Sing. 

From  a  mere  modernised  penitentiary  the  Elmira  Reforma- 
tory has  been  developed  into  a  great  compulsory  educational 


388  Punishment  of  Crime.  [§202 

establishment  for  employing  felons  and  corrigibles.  Moral, 
mental,  and  manual  training  have  been  systematically  co- 
ordinated, with  the  end  in  view  of  turning  out  practical,  self- 
supporting,  self-controlling  citizens.  As  the  editor  of  "The 
Summary,"  a  periodical  published  at  the  Elmira  Reformatory 
(the  editor  himself  being  an  inmate  of  the  institution),  puts  it, 
the  reformatory  prescription  consists  of  a  trinity  of  M's,  — 
mental,  moral,  and  manual  training,  —  and  these  ingredients 
have  been  used  in  varying  proportions,  according  to  the  needs 
of  the  patient.  The  reformatory  has  firmly  established  itself 
as  something  more  than  an  experiment,  although  its  wise 
originator,  Dr.  Brockway,  continues  to  rank  it  as  an  experi- 
mental station,  inasmuch  as  opportunity  is  constantly  afforded 
for  the  trial  of  plans  that  offer  promise  of  aid  in  accomplishing 
the  avowed  purposes  of  the  reformatory. 

Looking  at  the  matter  squarely,  then,  the  economic  side  of 
the  question  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand  drastic 
treatment.  The  question  of  profits  has  been  lost  sight  of 
through  the  force  of  necessity.  It  is  the  State's  duty  to  treat 
its  moral  invalids  with  the  same  fairness  in  recognising  their 
illness  that  it  shows  to  its  mental  and  physical  invalids.  It 
certainly  has  no  right  to  expect  to  make  profit  out  of  either. 
Its  whole  duty,  then,  is  to  approach  all  three  classes,  the  de- 
pendent, the  delinquent,  and  the  defective,  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  physician.  Their  bodies  must  be  kept  in  the  best 
condition,  and  their  moral  and  mental  attributes  trained  and 
strengthened.  By  giving  more  attention  to  this  ethical  side 
of  the  problem,  the  best  economic  results  will  be  reached 
sooner  or  later. 

Prisons  have  not  been  so  effectively  deterrent  as  it  was 
formerly  supposed  they  would  be;  punishment  has  not  accom- 
plished the  ends  sought.  Revenge  is  not  a  part  of  the  State's 
duty,  but  the  protection  of  society  is  its  sole  duty,  and  crimi- 
nals are  a  part  of  society.  That  method  of  treatment,  there- 
fore, which  will  reduce  the  number  of  criminals  and  bring 
them  back  to  society  as  cured  and  industrious  citizens  will  also 


§202]  Solution  of  the  Question.  389 

eventually  reduce  the  expense  to  the  State  and  the  annoyance 
and  irritation  and  danger  which  come  from  the  presence  of  a 
body  of  criminals.  Whatever  conduces  to  this  result,  whether 
it  be  the  employment  of  prisoners  solely  for  the  benefit  of  the 
State  or  teaching  them  how  to  employ  their  minds  and  hands 
when  they  leave  the  prisons,  must  be  the  true  course  ;  the 
size  of  the  deficit  in  the  State  treasury  resulting  therefrom,  or 
the  trifling  competition  which  follows,  are  of  but  little  account. 
In  place  of  the  old  rule  for  the  running  of  prisons, — profits, 
with  incidental  reformatory  results,  —  the  new  rule  will  hold 
sway,  —  reformation,  with  incidental  profits. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE   TEMPERANCE   QUESTION. 

203.    References. 

U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue,  Reports;  United  States 
Twelfth  Census,  Reports  on  Manufactures  ;  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour, 
Twelfth  Annual  Report  (Economic  Aspects  of  the  Liquor  Problem) ; 
Henry  C.  Black,  Treatise  on  the  Laws  regulating  the  Manufacture  and  Sale 
of  Intoxicating  Liquors  ;  F.  II.  Wines  and  John  Koren,  The  Liquor  Prob- 
lem in  its  Legislative  Aspects;  John  Koren,  The  Economic  Aspects  of  the 
Liqiior  Problem;  Henry  William  Blair,  Temperance  Mcrt'ement ;  Daniel 
Dorchester,  The  Liquor  Problem  in  all  Ages ;  U.  S.  Commissioner  of 
Labour,  Fifth  Special  Report  (Gothenburg  System  of  Liquor  Traffic); 
E.  L.  Fanshawe,  Liquor  Legislation  in  the  United  States  and  Canada ; 
E.  II .  Crosby,  The  Saloon  as  a  Political  Power,  in  Forum,  VII.  323  (May> 
1889) ;  W.  S.  Rainsford,  Reform  of  the  Drink  Traffic,  in  North  American 
Review,  CLVI.  728  (June,  1893) ;  James  C.  Fernald,  The  Economics  of 
Prohibition;  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour,  Twelfth 
Annual  Report,  Part  IV.,  Twenty-sixth  Annual  Report ;  Lester  F.  Ward, 
Dynamic  Sociology  (2d  ed.),  I.  44,  II.  447  ;  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
decision  on  South  Carolina  dispensary  law,  May  9,  1898,  in  Supreme 
Court  Reporter,  674  (May  30,  1898)  ;  Raymond,  Calkins,  Substitutes  for  the 
Saloon  ;  John  S.  Billings  (Editor),  Physiological  Aspects  of  the  Liquor 
Problem  ;  Joseph  Rovvntree  and  Arthur  Sherwell,  The  Temperance  Prob- 
lem and  Social  Reform ;  Axel  Gustafson,  The  Foundation  of  Death :  A 
Study  of  the  Drink  Question  ;  Francis  G.  Peabody,  Substitutes  for  the 
Saloon,  in  Forum,  XXI.  595  (July,  1896)  ;  The  Cyclopedia  of  Temperance 
and  Prohibition;  bibliography  in  Brookings  and  Ringwalt,  Briefs  for 
Debate,  §  Ixvi. 

204.    Production  and  Consumption  of  Liquors. 

Could  the  facts  be  ascertained  and  properly  classified,  it 
would  probably  be  shown  that  the  most  gigantic  evils  which 
society  has  to  deal  with  are  those  which  come  from  licen- 
tiousness, with  its  heritage  of  stupendous  crimes,  individual 

39° 


§204]       Production  and  Consumption.         391 

suffering,  and  a  burden  borne  by  posterity.  Next  to  this, 
intemperance,  in  its  usual  sense  of  excessive  use  of  stimulants, 
especially  the  alcoholic,  may  be  ranked  as  the  most  distinctive 
evil  of  society. 

The  difficulties  of  regulating  the  evil  are  great,  because  the 
influences  arising  from  it  are  complicated  and  insidious.  Could 
the  results  of  intemperance  be  confined  to  the  individual,  the 
evil  might  be  regulated  or  controlled.  The  ramifications  are 
so  great  and  the  interests  involved  so  varied  and  extensive,  that 
one  may  well  become  discouraged  when  studying  the  efforts 
society  has  already  made  to  protect  itself.  The  extent  of  the 
traffic ;  the  magnitude  of  the  drink  bill ;  the  influence  upon 
idleness,  wastefulness,  pauperism,  and  crime  ;  the  vast  amount 
of  capital  involved ;  the  enormous  consumption  of  raw  ma- 
terials to  supply  the  manufacture  of  liquors  of  all  kinds,  —  all 
these  features  must  be  considered  when  any  attempt  is  made 
to  regulate  the  liquor  traffic.  Fortunately,  the  data  at  hand 
enable  us  to  get  some  idea  of  the  material  proportions  of 
the  traffic. 

On  the  question  of  consumption  the  facts  from  a  late  report 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  (1901)  may  be 
tabulated  as  follows  :  — 


Kind  of  Liquor. 

Consumption 
(in  gallons) 
of  liquors  • 
for  the  Year 
ending  June 
30,  1901. 

Consumption 

(in  gallons) 
per  capita. 

IQOI. 

1870. 

1840. 

Distilled  Spirits,  Domestic  and  Imported 

103,086,839 

i-33 

2.07 

2.52 

Wines,  Domestic  and  Imported  .... 

28,791,149 

•37 

•32 

.29 

Malt  Liquors,  Domestic  and  Imported    . 
Total     ...                        ... 

1,258,249,391 

16.20 

S-3i 

1.36 

1,390,127,379 

17.90 

7.70 

4.17 

This  enormous  increase  since  1840  in  gallons  consumed  per 
capita  is  due,  it  will  be  seen  at  once,  to  the  consumption  of 


392 


Temperance. 


[§  204 


malt  liquors  and  wines,  there  being  a  constant  decrease  in  the 
consumption  of  distilled  spirits.  Although  there  has  been  an 
increase  during  some  years  of  the  period  from  1840  to  the 
present  time  in  the  consumption  of  wines,  it  is  now  less  than 
it  was  sixty-two  years  ago.  Along  with  this  decrease  in  the 
consumption  of  "  hard  liquors  "  and  wines,  and  the  great  in- 
crease in  the  use  of  malt  liquors,  there  have  been  very  great 
changes  in  the  habits  of  the  people  at  large,  intemperance 
being  much  less  at  the  present  time  than  at  any  former  period.1 

According  to  the  United  States  Census  of  1900,  the  capi- 
tal invested  in  the  production  of  all  kinds  of  liquors  was 
$457,674,087,  and  the  annual  product  was  valued  at  about 
$340,615,466.  The  materials  used  were  valued  at  $70,512,042. 
The  average  number  of  persons  employed  was  44,417,  the 
total  wages  paid  them  amounting  to  $28,005,484.  The  sala- 
ried officials,  clerks,  etc.,  numbered  8,158,  and  they  were  paid 
$14,301,644. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  state  in  values  the  amount  of  the 
drink  bill,  because  the  official  statistics  deal  only  with  quan- 

1  According  to  Mulhall,  the  consumption  of  all  kinds  of  liquor  per 
inhabitant  for  different  countries  is  as  follows  :  — 


Country. 

Gallons  per  Inhabitant. 

Wine. 

Beer  and 
Cider. 

Spirits. 

Equivalent 
in  Alcohol 

19.0 
2-5 
°5 
5.2 

16.5 

15.0 
12.7 

0.4 

0.5 
0.7 
0.7 

IO.O 

3-° 
5  ° 

27.0 

I  I.O 

18.0 
0.9 
6-5 

J.O 

O.2 
6.2 

S-o 

12  .5 

8.8 

28.5 
3-3 
1.8 

2.O 

1.9 
'  3 

I.O 

i  6 
0.4 
°-3 

O.2 
4-2 

3-5 
4.0 

2.6 

1.6 
'•7 

I.O 
I.O 

1.9 

3-5 

2.2 
0.6 

.6 
•9 
•7 
•5 
•  3 
.0 

!l 

.0 
.0 
.0 

•5 

Italy  

Sweden  

Holland                 

§  205]  License  Revenue.  393 

titles,  and  any  estimate  of  value  must  be  the  result  of  calcu- 
lation. The  total  production  of  distilled  liquors  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1901,  was  128,568,201  gallons;  fermented 
liquors,  in  round  numbers,  1,259,041,998  gallons;  domestic 
wines  (estimated),  25,000,000  gallons;  or  a  total  production 
of  liquors  of  all  kinds,  of  nearly  1,412,610,199  gallons.  There 
were  consumed  in  the  arts,  manufactures,  and  for  medicinal 
purposes,  in  1890,  10,976,842  proof  gallons,  which  amount  is 
included  in  the/^r  capita  consumption  as  stated. 

205.    Public  Revenue  from  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

There  have  been  many  private  attempts  to  ascertain  the 
amount  or  extent  of  the  liquor  traffic,  but  the  calculations 
have  always  been  made  on  observations  of  narrow  range. 
Under  recent  investigations  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Labour  the  facts  have  been  obtained  for  nearly  30,000  places 
of  business,  engaged  either  in  part  or  exclusively  in  the  liquor 
traffic.  Allowing  that  the  positive  information  collected  from 
this  large  number  of  places  would  apply  equally  to  the  161,483 
places  or  establishments  in  the  United  States  which  pay  a 
Federal  tax  to  engage  in  the  traffic,  it  is  found  that  the  capital 
invested  exclusively  in  the  traffic  amounts  to  nearly  $960,000,- 
ooo,  in  the  hands  of  191,000  proprietors  or  firm  members, 
with  nearly  242,000  employees.  Of  the  whole  number  of 
establishments,  over  nineteen- twentieths  are  engaged  in  the 
retail  liquor  traffic,  and  less  than  one-twentieth  in  the  whole- 
sale and  retail  traffic  combined,  or  the  wholesale  alone ;  73+ 
per  cent  were  engaged  exclusively  in  the  liquor  traffic,  and 
26+  per  cent  in  the  liquor  traffic  in  connection  with  some 
other  business. 

The  revenue  derived  from  the  liquor  traffic,  including  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  liquors  of  all  kinds  for  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1896,  and  from  other  sources,  was  $183,213,125. 
Out  of  this  amount  the  United  States  received  for  internal 
revenue  tax,  $114,450,862  ;  other  State  and  local  license  fees 


394  Temperance.  [§205 

or  special  taxes  amounted  to  $49, 5 65, 540  (State  license  fees 
or  special  taxes,  $10,399,016;  the  counties,  $5,011,225;  the 
municipalities,  $34,155,299).  The  total  fines  received  by 
States,  counties,  and  municipalities  amounted  to  $1,003,773. 

The  tax  paid  on  real  and  personal  property  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  liquors  is  estimated  at  $1,225,806,  and  that  on 
real  and  personal  property  of  establishments  engaged  in  the 
liquor  traffic,  $10,075,120;  the  customs  duties  on  imported 
liquors  amounted  to  $6,736,063  ;  if  a  few  other  comparatively 
small  items  be  added,  the  total  public  revenue  from  all  sources 
reached  $183, 213, 125. 1 

The  cost  of  collecting  this  vast  revenue  cannot  be  stated 
with  any  definiteness,  for  States,  counties,  and  municipalities 
collect  their  fees  and  fines  by  officers  having  other  duties. 
The  Federal  revenue  officers  also  have  other  duties  to  perform 
than  those  connected  with  the  manufacture  of  liquor,  but  an 
indicative  statement  can  be  made  from  the  total  expense  of 
collecting  all  the  Federal  internal  revenue  for  the  year  under 

1  The  classification  of  total  revenue,  as  given  in  the  report  referred  to, 
is  as  follows :  — 

Tax  on  Real  and  Personal  Property  employed  in  Liquor 

Manufacture  (estimated) $1,225,805.85 

Tax  on  Real  and  Personal  Property  employed  in  Liquor 

Traffic  (estimated) 10,075,120.00 

Ad  valorem  Tax  in  Kentucky  and  Missouri 32,115.70 

United  States  Internal  Revenue  Tax 114,450,861.77 

License  Fees  or  Special  Taxes,  States 10,399,015.60 

License  Fees  or  Special  Taxes,  Counties 5,011,225.06 

License  Fees  or  Special  Taxes,  Municipalities    ....  34,155,299.25 

Fines,  States 91,299.56 

Fines,  Counties 3?8.557-75 

Fines,  Municipalities 533,916.01 

Fines,  Sales  of  Confiscated  Liquors,  etc.,  United  States 

(estimated) 123,844.96 

Customs  Duties  on  Imported  Liquors 6,736,063.00 

Total $183,213,124.51 

It  is  impossible  that  the  items  as  stated  in  the  text  should  give  the 
total  $183,213,125,  since  this  total  includes,  as  stated,  "a  few  other  com- 
paratively small  items."  (There  are  no  comparable  data  since  1896.) 


§206]  Prohibition.  395 

consideration ;  it  was,  from  liquors,  tobacco,  and  all  other 
sources,  $4,086,293.  The  cost  of  collecting  the  total  liquor 
revenues  alone  by  the  Federal  government  is,  of  course,  less 
than  the  sum  just  stated. 

206.    Prohibition. 

The  attempts  in  this  country  to  regulate  the  liquor  traffic 
have  resulted  in  four  methods,  —  prohibition,  license,  local 
option,  and  State  account.  Under  prohibition  the  laws  pro- 
hibit the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  of  any 
kind,  or  regulate  the  manufacture  and  prohibit  the  sale  thereof. 
Opinions  as  to  the  effects  of  prohibition  in  those  States  in  which 
it  has  been  attempted  differ  widely.  Probably  at  the  present 
time  the  most  ardent  prohibitionist  would  not  insist  that  pro- 
hibitory laws  have  succeeded  in  destroying  the  liquor  traffic. 
In  small  places  such  laws  have  no  doubt  resulted  in  the  fairly 
complete  suspension  of  the  retail  liquor  business,  but  it  cannot 
be  claimed  that  such  results  have  been  effected  in  cities ;  and 
when  not  enforced  the  system  prevents  limiting  the  traffic  in 
any  other  way. 

Prohibitory  laws  have  been  very  irritating  in  their  effects,  be- 
cause in  order  to  accomplish  their  purpose  many  minor  provi- 
sions are  essential,  such  as  the  prohibition  of  transporting 
liquors,  or  having  liquors  in  one's  possession  for  purpose  of 
sale,  or  renting  property  for  the  conduct  of  the  liquor  business  ; 
hence  many  petty  crimes  or  misdemeanours  have  been  the  result 
of  the  execution  of  prohibitory  laws.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
most  ardent  opponent  of  prohibition,  if  he  be  a  temperance 
man,  would  say  that  could  the  purposes  of  prohibition  be 
carried  out,  society  would  be  the  gainer.  It  is  true,  neverthe- 
less, that  the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic  through  prohibi- 
tory legislation  has  not  been  as  successful  as  its  advocates 
would  desire,  and  is  not  now  gaining  ground.  One  constant 
difficulty  is  in  the  authorised  use  of  liquor  for  medicinal  pur- 
poses, which  makes  the  druggists  suspected  and  often  guilty 
of  liquor-selling.  There  is,  of  course,  a  certain  ethical  influ- 


396  Temperance.  [§206 

ence  resulting  from  prohibition  which  is  reflected  upon  the 
people ;  it  is  the  ethics  of  total  abstinence  as  an  example  to 
others.  This  is  healthy  in  itself,  and  whatever  law  or  system 
calls  attention  to  the  good  effects  of  total  abstinence  must  be 
considered  an  effective  instrumentality  in  securing  temperance 
reform. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  effort  to  break  up  the  drink 
habit  is  to  be  found  in  the  action  of  employers  of  labour, 
especially  in  the  management  of  great  railroads.  It  is  becom- 
ing very  largely  the  custom  of  such  employers  to  insist  upon 
employees  being  sober,  and  especially  in  railroad  employment 
of  abstaining  absolutely  from  the  use  of  intoxicants.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the  times. 

207.  License. 

Regulation  through  license  has  been  more  frequent  than 
prohibition.  The  immorality  of  license  is  claimed  by  its  op- 
ponents as  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  for  its  disuse.  It 
is  maintained  that  the  government  has  no  right  to  derive 
income  through  the  prosecution  of  a  harmful  traffic ;  that 
where  the  government  with  one  hand  undertakes  to  regulate 
or  by  law  declares  the  liquor  traffic  to  be  a  nuisance,  it  should 
not  with  the  other  secure  revenue  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
government  itself.  The  advocates  of  the  liquor  system  claim 
that  by  it  the  number  of  places  where  liquor  can  be  obtained 
for  personal  consumption  is  reduced,  and  the  lowest  places 
closed  by  the  self-interest  of  those  who  pay  for  licenses. 
License  is  therefore  partial  prohibition ;  it  results  in  the 
selection  of  places  where  liquor  can  be  obtained  rather  than  in 
the  closing  of  all  places,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  of  allowing 
everybody  to  sell  who  desires  to  engage  in  the  business. 

The  method  of  assessing  a  high  license  that  shall  in  itself 
be  prohibitory  on  the  lower  grades  of  saloons  and  liquor 
stores  has  great  weight,  and  is  very  popular  in  many  localities. 
Through  it  revenue  is  increased,  and  the  number  of  places 
where  liquor  can  be  obtained  decreased.  Much  popular  in- 


§' 2o8]  License  —  Local  Option.  397 

dignation  is  usually  expressed  against  this  method  because  of 
its  tendency  to  make  the  liquor  traffic  aristocratic,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  man  of  small  means  from  obtaining  what  others  of 
larger  means  can  secure.  These  license  features  are  con- 
sidered by  the  prohibitionist  as  immoral,  chiefly  because  they 
compromise  with  what  is  considered  to  be  a  criminal 
business. 

208.  Local  Option. 

There  is  another  popular  method  employed,  combining 
prohibition  and  license.  Under  local  option  the  legislature  of 
a  State  provides  that  any  municipality  which  chooses  to  vote 
against  granting  any  licenses  for  the  liquor  traffic  may  do  so, 
or  it  may  vote  to  issue  licenses.  This  leaves  the  whole  matter 
to  local  public  will.  It  is  curious  to  note  the  experience  of 
municipalities  under  a  local  option  system  in  shifting  from  one 
method  to  the  other,  one  year  granting  licenses  by  popular 
vote,  and  another  year  prohibiting  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
several  large  cities,  especially  Cambridge,  Mass.,  have  for 
long  terms  of  years  voted  against -the  liquor  traffic,  and  have, 
so  far  as  votes  show,  nearly  crushed  it  out. 

The  prohibition  party  condemn  this  method  more  than  any 
other  for  the  reason  that  by  it  the  legislature  delegates  the 
power  to  define  a  crime  to  municipalities,  instead  of  defining 
it  by  law  for  all  municipalities  within  the  State,  and  for  the 
further  reason  that  if  in  one  town  licenses  are  prohibited 
and  the  sale  of  liquor  made  a  crime,  persons  who  wish  to 
obtain  it  can,  by  crossing  the  line  into  a  town  that  grants 
licenses,  purchase  it  without  criminal  results.  So  what  is  a 
crime  on  one  side  of  the  boundary  line  is  not  a  crime  on  the 
other,  and  the  result  is  sometimes  a  curious  complication. 

The  advocates  of  local  option  and  license  answer  the  pro- 
hibitionist, when  the  argument  of  immorality  is  raised,  that 
under  prohibition,  when  liquor  saloons  are  closed,  the  proprie- 
tors furnish  their  customers  with  individual  keys  and  turn  their 
saloons  into  private  clubs.  This  practice  in  an  Eastern  State 


398  Temperance.  [§208 

some  years  ago  became  so  thoroughly  abused  that  it  resulted 
in  the  repeal  of  the  prohibition  laws  and  the  enactment  of 
license  regulations. 

All  these  methods  are  on  trial.  Each  one  is  open  to  many 
objections;  each  has  some  advantages.  Only  through  long 
experience  will  the  public  be  able  to  determine  just  which  is 
the  best  method  of  regulating  the  liquor  traffic.  In  the  mean 
time  the  crusade  against  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  liquors 
and  in  the  interest  of  temperance  goes  on,  the  drinking  habits 
of  the  people  change,  and  the  reform  is  quietly  being  accom- 
plished, for  notwithstanding  the  increased  consumption  of  malt 
liquors,  there  is  a  decrease  in  that  of  spirituous  and  distilled 
liquors,  the  use  of  the  latter  being  considered  far  more  harm- 
ful than  the  former. 

209.   Systems  of  State  Account. 

In  Europe  there  has  been  little  attempt  at  prohibition ;  the 
regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic,  wherever  it  has  been  attempted, 
has  been  through  some  method  of  license.  There  is  a 
method  in  vogue  in  Norway  and  Sweden  popularly  known  as 
the  Norwegian  or  Gothenburg  system,  which  has  many  very 
ardent  supporters.  The  government  grants  to  a  competent 
company  a  monopoly  of  the  sale  of  liquors  within  certain 
geographical  limits,  and  sales  must  be  made  only  at  a  certain 
advance  beyond  cost,  usually  not  exceeding  six  per  cent 
profit ;  the  surplus  over  expenses  is  to  be  disposed  of  by  the 
State  in  various  ways,  usually  in  the  support  of  some  line  of 
charity  work  or  kindred  object. 

The  principle  of  this  system  is  that  by  it  the  inducement  to 
enter  the  liquor  traffic  is  removed,  by  taking  away  the  possi- 
bility of  making  great  gains ;  for  if  the  liquor  traffic  can  be 
made  no  more  profitable  than  other  trades,  there  will  be  less 
desire  to  enter  it.  There  is  probably  much  in  this  claim,  and 
on  account  of  it  the  Norwegian  system  has  been  advocated  in 
the  United  States,  but  as  yet  has  been  nowhere  adopted,  ex- 
cept in  a  modified  form  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  The 


§209]  State  Account.  399 

results  there,  however,  have  not  been  quite  equal  to  the  ex- 
pectations of  the  authorities,  and  the  original  act  has  been 
held  by  the  courts  to  be  unconstitutional.  A  more  recent 
law,  recognising  the  constitutional  defects  of  the  first  and 
modifying  to  some  extent  the  original  provisions,  has  been 
held  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  to  be  constitutional. 
Temperance  advocates  oppose  the  Norwegian  system  for  the 
same  reason  that  they  oppose  all  forms  of  license  laws,  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  a  compromise  with  evil,  and  that  the  last 
thing  they  desire  is  to  make  the  business  respectable. 

The  results  in  Norway  and  Sweden  have  been  fairly  satisfac- 
tory. Drunkenness  has  decreased  in  certain  places,  and  the 
consumption  of  liquors  fallen  off;  in  others  the  facts  do  not 
show  clearly  that  any  great  advantage  has  been  gained  by  the 
adoption  of  the  system.  Advocates  of  the  temperance  meas- 
ures in  various  countries  are  watching  the  results  of  the  Nor- 
wegian experiment,  as  they  are  everywhere  watching  the  various 
other  experiments  for  the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

The  statistics  showing  arrests  and  convictions  under  different 
systems  of  regulation  (see  ch.  xxi.)  are  not  particularly  trust- 
worthy. They  sometimes  show  that  under  prohibition  there  is 
much  more  drinking  than  under  license.  This  results  from 
the  fact  that  municipal  police  officers  have  been,  as  a  rule, 
more  favorably  disposed  towards  the  license  system  than  pro- 
hibition. The  politics  of  cities,  too,  has  sometimes  worked 
against  prohibition,  and  arrests  for  the  slightest  cause  under 
prohibitory  laws  have  resulted  in  adding  to  the  criminal  statis- 
tics, while  under  the  license  system  great  leniency  is  shown  to 
those  found  on  the  streets  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 

Of  course,  the  great  question  is,  from  the  sociological  stand- 
point, Can  prohibition  be  made  really  effective  when  evidence 
can  hardly  be  obtained  except  from  the  drinker  or  the  seller, 
both  of  whom  have  an  interest  in  keeping  the  business  up ; 
and  which  of  the  four  systems  really  does  most  to  keep  temp- 
tation out  of  the  way  of  men  not  yet  addicted  to  liquor? 


400  Temperance.  [§210 

210.    The  Influence  of  Intemperance  upon  Crime. 

The  usual  argument  against  intemperance  is  that  it  causes 
an  increase  in  the  volume  of  crime  and  in  the  number  of 
paupers.  What  the  temperance  advocate  has  stood  most  in 
need  of,  is  the  solid  strength  of  facts  collected  and  collated 
in  a  thorough  and  systematic  manner.  Unfortunately,  such  a 
collection  does  not  exist  for  any  very  wide  period  of  time  or 
extent  of  territory ;  but  the  few  facts  that  have  been  collected 
officially  are  significant  and  valuable.  In  1880  an  examination 
was  made  in  the  nine  criminal  courts  of  Suffolk  County,  Massa. 
chusetts,  for  one  year,  the  attempt  being  made  to  ascertain 
the  influence  of  intemperance  in  the  commission  of  crimes  nol 
directly  connected  with  the  sale  or  use  of  liquor.  It  has  been 
shown  (see  statistics  of  crime,  ch.  xxi.)  that  sixty  per  cent  of 
all  the  sentences  for  crime  in  the  Commonwealth  during  twenty 
years  were  distinctively  liquor  offences.  It  was  found  that  of 
the  16,897  total  sentences  for  the  year  1880  (the  distinctive 
liquor  offences  being  included),  12,221  were  for  the  various 
grades  of  drunkenness,  and  68  for  liquor-keeping  and  liquor- 
selling  without  license.  This  leaves  4,608,  or  27+  per  cent, 
for  other  crimes. 

To  ascertain  the  influence  of  intemperance  in  the  commis- 
sion of  this  27+  per  cent  of  the  crimes,  inquiry  was  made  on 
five  points  :  first,  whether  the  criminal  was  under  the  influ- 
ence of  liquor  at  the  time  the  crime  was  committed ;  second, 
whether  he  was  in  liquor  at  the  time  he  formed  the  intent  to 
commit  the  crime;  third,  whether  the  intemperate  habits  of 
the  criminal  were  such  as  to  lead  to  the  condition  which  in- 
duced the  crime  ;  fourth,  whether  the  intemperate  habits  of 
others  led  the  criminal  to  a  condition  which  induced  the 
crime  ;  fifth,  what  the  drinking  habit  of  the  criminal  was,  that  of 
total  abstainer,  moderate  drinker,  or  excessive  drinker.  These 
inquiries  were  made  by  special  agents  stationed  in  the  courts 
(with  the  co-operation  of  judges  and  officers  of  the  courts), 
who  were  instructed  to  follow  up  the  case  through  research 


§210]  Intemperance  and  Crime.  401 

when  the  facts  were  not  obtainable  from  testimony  or  the  rec- 
ords of  the  court.  It  appeared  from  the  results  that  of  the 
4,608  cases,  2,097  of  the  offenders  were  in  liquor  at  the  time 
of  the  commission  of  offences;  1,918  were  in  liquor  at  the 
time  of  the  formation  of  the  criminal  intent ;  the  intemperate 
habits  of  1,804  were  such  as  to  induce  a  moral  condition 
favourable  to  crime;  821  were  led  to  the  criminal  action 
through  the  contagion  of  intemperance.  Of  the  4,608  con- 
victed persons  the  total  abstainers  numbered  1,158  ;  moderate 
drinkers,  1,918;  and  the  excessive  drinkers,  1,317.  Since  in 
16,897  other  cases  conviction  was  for  distinctive  liquor  crimes, 
by  adding  the  2,097  in  liquor  at  the  time  of  committing  other 
crimes,  we  have  a  total  of  18,994,  or  84+  per  cent  of  all  the 
cases  passing  through  the  criminal  courts  during  the  year  to 
be  charged  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  influence  of  liquor. 
This  does  not  mean  that  nearly  85  per  cent  of  the  volume 
of  crime  was  due  to  the  influence  of  liquor.  The  statement 
is  that  84+  per  cent  of  the  cases  were  due  directly  or  in- 
directly to  the  influence  of  intoxicants.  Of  course,  many  of 
the  crimes  committed  by  the  remaining  15+  per  cent  were  of 
such  a  serious  nature  as  to  outweigh  several  of  the  minor 
liquor  crimes. 

A  somewhat  similar  investigation  in  Massachusetts  was  made 
in  1895  by  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour, 
under  specific  direction  of  the  legislature.  The  summary  of 
the  conclusions  of  the  officers  of  the  bureau  disclose  the  fact 
that  out  of  26,672  convictions  in  the  State  for  various  offences 
during  twelve  consecutive  months,  17,575,  or  about  66  in 
every  hundred,  were  convictions  for  drunkenness;  657,  or  a 
little  over  two  in  every  hundred,  were  for  drunkenness  in  com- 
bination with  other  offences.  So  18,232  convictions,  or  a 
little  over  68  in  every  hundred,  included  drunkenness  either 
wholly  or  in  part  as  a  cause  for  the  conviction.  In  21,863 
cases,  or  82  in  every  hundred,  the  offender  was  in  liquor  at 
the  time  the  offence  was  committed ;  in  8,440  cases  in  which 

drunkenness  did  not  form  a  part  of  the  offence,  —  that  is,  in 

26 


402  Temperance.  [§210 

which  the  offender  was  convicted  of  a  crime  other  than  drunk- 
enness, —  3,640,  or  a  little  over  43  in  every  hundred,  were 
cases  in  which  the  offender  was  in  liquor  at  the  time  the 
offence  was  committed;  and  4,852,  or  57  in  every  hundred, 
were  cases  in  which  the  offender  was  in  liquor  at  the  time  the 
intent  was  formed  to  commit  the  offence.  Out  of  the  whole 
number  of  cases  (26,672),  there  were  therefore  22,514  in 
which  the  intemperate  habits  of  the  offender  led  to  a  condition 
which  induced  the  crime  ;  this  is  about  84  per  cent  of  the 
whole  number,  or  practically  the  identical  proportion  shown 
in  the  investigation  of  1880.  It  was  also  shown  that  in  over 
16,000  cases  the  intemperate  habits  of  persons  other  than  the 
offender  were  said  to  have  been  influential  in  the  commitment 
of  the  offence;  that  25,000  of  the  whole  number,  or  about  94 
per  cent,  were  addicted  to  the  use  of  liquor ;  that  the  excessive 
drinkers  numbered  4,500  and  over,  and  the  total  abstainers 
only  1,500  and  over. 

211.    Intemperance  and  Pauperism. 

In  regard  to  pauperism,  this  investigation  in  1895  proved 
that  out  of  3,230  paupers  (that  being  the  total  number  found 
in  all  the  State  institutions  during  twelve  consecutive  months) , 
2,108,  or  about  65  in  every  hundred,  were  addicted  to  the  use 
of  liquor ;  nearly  48  in  every  hundred  had  one  or  both  parents 
intemperate  ;  something  over  39  in  every  hundred  attributed 
their  pauperism  to  their  intemperate  habits ;  and  five  in  every 
hundred  considered  their  pauperism  due  to  the  intemperance 
of  their  parents,  one  or  both. 

212.   A  Study  of  the  Temperance  Question. 

The  student  of  sociology  will  be  glad  to  know  that  there  is 
being  undertaken  at  the  present  time,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Committee  of  Fifty,  a  very  extensive  investigation  relative 
to  the  influence  of  intemperance  upon  crime,  pauperism,  and 
insanity,  and  the  results  are  being  looked  forward  to  with  much 
interest.  This  committee  had  its  origin  at  a  meeting  in  New 


§212]  Study  of  the  Question.  403 

York  in  1893,  when  a  few  men  were  led  to  consider  the  possi- 
bility of  bringing  together  the  results  of  educated  opinion  upon 
the  subject  of  drink,  so  as  to  get  some  sort  of  consensus  of  the 
competent.  Leading  physiologists,  economists,  and  moralists 
are  found  on  the  committee.  Its  purpose  has  been  to  collect 
and  collate  impartially  all  accessible  facts  which  bear  upon  the 
problem.  The  actual  work  of  the  committee  is  conducted  by 
four  sub-committees,  —  one  on  the  physiological  aspect  of  the 
drink  problem,  one  on  its  legislative  aspect,  one  on  its  ethical 
aspect,  and  one  on  its  economic  aspect.  The  committee  on 
the  legislative  aspects  of  the  liquor  traffic  was  the  first  to  make 
its  report.  The  second  to  report  was  the  committee  on  econ- 
omic aspects ;  that  committee  confined  its  researches  to  the 
relation  of  the  liquor  problem  to  poverty,  crime,  insanity,  the 
habits  of  different  nationalities  in  the  United  States,  the  pro- 
duction and  consumption  of  liquor,  and  the  revenue  derived 
from  the  traffic.  The  production,  consumption,  and  revenue 
questions  were  reported  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour  in 
its  Twelfth  Annual  Report.  The  physiological  sub-committee 
undertook  a  large  variety  of  statistical  and  laboratory  researches, 
and  has  made  an  extensive  report  in  two  volumes.  The  ethical 
committee  took  up  a  series  of  inquiries  into  the  relation  of  the 
drink  problem  to  the  home,  food,  recreation,  and  other  aspects 
of  social  life.  It  has  made  a  report  in  part,  entitled  "  Substi- 
tutes for  the  Saloon."  It  is  also  engaged  in  an  inquiry  rela- 
tive to  the  quality  of  instruction  on  temperance  as  given  in  the 
public  schools.  Undoubtedly  the  ethical  committee  will  sub- 
mit a  further  report  comprehending  the  general  conclusions 
to  be  drawn  from  the  work  of  the  full  committee.  The  first 
requisite  in  any  social  problem  is  to  throw  light  upon  it  through 
the  historical  and  comparative  methods,  involving  the  collec- 
tion of  data,  and  this  is  the  office  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty  so 
far  as  the  liquor  problem  is  concerned. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

REGULATION   OF   ORGANISATIONS. 
213.    References. 

Washington  Gladden,  Social  Facts  and  Forces,  ch.  iii. ;  Allen  R.  Foote 
and  Charles  E.  Everett,  The  Law  of  Incorporated  Companies  •  Francis  A. 
Walker,  Socialism,  in  Scribner's Magazine,  New  Series,  I.  107  (Feb.,  1887) ; 
Henry  D.  Lloyd,  Wealth  against  Commonwealth;  Ernst  von  Halle, 
Trusts,  or  Industrial  Combinations  in  the  United  States  ;  J.  W.  Jenks,  The 
Trust  Problem ;  John  I?.  Clark,  The  Control  of  Trusts ;  Bulletin  of 
Twelfth  Census,  Industrial  Combinations  ;  F.  J.  Stimson,  Hand-Book  to  the 
Labor  Laws  of  the  United  States  and  Labor  in  its  relations  to  Law  ;  Henry 
C.  Adams,  Relation  of  the  State  to  Industrial  Action  ;  W.  Stanley  Jevons, 
The  State  in  Relation  to  Labor. 

214.  Political  Organisations. 

Society,  through  its  constituted  agent,  government,  does  not 
interfere  with  the  voluntary  organisations  or  associations  of 
individuals  unless  they  have  business  functions,  seek  to  own 
property,  or  in  some  way  affect  the  material  interests  "of  the 
body  politic,  as  pointed  out  in  the  chapter  on  Social  Units. 
The  innumerable  societies  which  exist  have  their  own  regula- 
tions, which  must  not  in  any  way  contravene  law.  So  .long  as 
the  associations  are  peaceful  and  attend  to  the  purposes  for 
which  they  are  created,  they  are  not  the  subject  of  government 
supervision.  There  is  another  class  of  organisations  created 
by  specific  acts  or  .which  government  itself  seeks  to  control  or 
regulate  in  some  degree. 

The  organisation  of  the  political  parties,  which  must  of 
necessity  exist  in  any  country  where  suffrage  has  been  granted, 
is  purely  voluntary,  and  there  has  been  little  or  no  attempt  to 
regulate  their  actions,  so  far  as  their  purely  party  purposes  are 
concerned.  It  is  only  very  recently  that  statutes  have  been 

404 


§214]  Political  Organisations.  405 

passed  giving  any  direction  to  the  methods  by  which  party 
organisations  shall  carry  out  their  objects,  and  such  regulation 
has  come  about  principally  by  the  use  of  what  is  known  as 
the  Australian  ballot.  Formerly,  when  a  party,  through  its 
primary  meetings,  its  district,  State,  or  national  conventions, 
had  made  its  nominations  and  had  perfected  its  organisation 
all  along  the  line  of  progressive  action,  little  remained  to  be 
done  besides  providing  proper  ballots  to  be  used  at  the  polls. 
After  the  ballots  were  cast  it  was  the  duty  of  the  officers  of  the 
government,  as  represented  in  towns,  cities,  counties,  and 
States,  to  receive  and  count  them,  classify  them,  and  make 
proper  announcement  of  the  results  to  the  State  officers  desig- 
nated by  law  for  such  purposes ;  but  up  to  the  casting  of  the 
ballot  government  had  little  or  nothing  to  do  except  to  pre- 
serve order.  Now,  with  the  use  of  the  Australian  ballot,  the 
machinery  of  voting  has  been  greatly  complicated.  By  its 
use  voters  are  required  to  retire  by  themselves  and  check 
the  names  of  the  candidates  of  their  choice,  individually  or 
in  block,  the  names  of  the  candidates  of  all  parties  being 
upon  one  ballot  or  series  of  ballots,  as  the  law  may  provide, 
and  the  voter  must  be  able  to  read  his  ballot  and  check 
the  names  of  the  candidates  of  his  choice.  This  is  done  in 
secret,  and  he  then  deposits  the  whole  ballot  with  the  names 
checked.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  all  this  requires  care- 
ful preparation,  as  a  result  of  which  the  legislatures  of  many 
States  where  the  Australian  ballot  is  in  use  have  regulated  the 
times  and  methods  of  holding  the  primary  meetings,  or  cau- 
cuses, as  they  are  called,  in  towns  and  the  wards  of  cities, 
and  especially  the  method  of  returning  the  results  of  their 
action.  They  must  be  called  in  a  certain  way ;  the  check  list, 
or  the  official  list  of  those  persons  entitled  to  vote,  used  in 
balloting  in  order  to  prevent  fraud  or  duplicate  voting,  must 
be  prepared  according  to  law,  and  all  measures  looking  to  an 
orderly,  free  expression  of  the  choice  of  the  voters  attending 
the  meetings  must  be  observed. 

All  nominees  under  this  system  must  be   certified  to  and 


406          Regulation  of  Organisations.         [§214 

sent  to  the  proper  officers  of  the  town,  city,  or  State  within 
the  time  prescribed  by  law.  From  these  nominations  or 
certificates  of  nominations  the  proper  officers  make  up  the 
official  ballot,  which  is  then  distributed  through  proper 
channels  for  the  use  of  voters  on  election  day.  Of  course, 
law  provides  penalties  for  illegal  voting  and  for  attempts  to 
bribe  voters,  in  the  latter  case  punishing  both  those  who  offer 
the  bribe  and  those  who  receive  it,  and  in  every  way  seeks 
to  protect  the  purity  and  integrity  of  the  action  of  political 
parties.  Other  than  these  regulations,  they  are  quite  free  to 
act  in  their  own  way,  and  the  interest  in  party  politics  always 
secures  very  efficient  and  careful  organisation. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  system  throws  on  State  officers, 
when  two  tickets  are  offered,  both  purporting  to  come  from  the 
same  party,  the  duty  of  deciding  which  is  the  regular  ticket 
and  therefore  entitled  to  a  place  on  the  general  ballot,  and 
also  what  persons  have  the  necessary  signatures  for  independ- 
ent candidacy.  There  are  also  in  some  States  laws  on  the 
holding  of  all  party  caucuses,  in  which  again  State  officers 
become  the  arbiters.  The  so-called  "  non-partisan  "  boards 
of  various  kinds,  in  which  members  must  by  law  be  divided 
between  two  or  more  parties,  are  another  example  of  the  offi- 
cial recognition  of  party  lines. 

215.    Corporations. 

Since  the  corporate  method  of  transacting  business  has 
become  general,  the  body  of  laws  relative  to  business  organisa- 
tions has  been  greatly  extended.  Statutes  have  always  regulated 
business  matters  in  a  certain  sense,  defining  responsibilities 
and,  in  the  case  of  co-partnerships,  making  regulations  for 
their  formation,  but  for  the  regulation  of  the  corporation  new 
legislation  has  been  invoked. 

A  business  corporation  may  be  formed  for  any  legitimate 
purpose  of  trade  or  production,  and  statutes  everywhere  pre- 
scribe the  form  and  method  of  organisation  ;  usually  three  or 
more  persons  may  agree  to  form  a  company  for  a  specified 


§215]  Corporations.  407 

purpose,  and  after  having  complied  in  a  preliminary  way  with 
statutory  provisions,  the  proper  officers  of  the  government, 
usually  the  secretary  of  state  or  some  officer  of  like  dignity  and 
grade,  may  issue  a  certificate  of  incorporation,  when  the  organ- 
isation may  enter  upon  the  active  conduct  of  the  business 
specified.  Statutes  make  provision  as  to  the  shares  of  stock 
in  such  a  company,  the  method  of  issuing  the  certificate  of 
stock,  the  liability  of  stockholders,  and  all  the  methods  of 
procedure  which  such  a  company  must  adopt.  These  corpora- 
tions have  become  very  common,  even  where  a  few  persons 
only  are  interested.  Many  private  firms  prefer  to  take  on  the 
corporate  form,  partly  in  order  to  avoid  the  difficulty  of 
settling  estates  which  exists  when  co-partnerships  are  con- 
cerned. Should  a  stockholder  of  a  corporation  die,  the  cor- 
porate person  as  known  in  law  continues,  the  stock  or  the 
certificate  of  the  deceased's  interest  in  the  business  being 
carried  by  his  representatives  as  property  rather  than  as  a 
direct  personal  share  in  the  business  itself. 

Legislative  action  goes  farther  than  to  regulate  merely 
the  method  of  organisation  of  corporations.  As  the  liabilities 
of  the  stockholders  are  limited  by  law  and  clearly  defined, 
and  the  corporation  itself  is  the  creation  of  the  legislative 
power  of  the  government,  it  has  been  held  reasonable  that  the 
affairs  of  a  corporation  should  in  a  certain  sense  be  made 
public,  so  that  all  persons  may  be  aware  of  its  condition. 
This  result  in  most  States  is  brought  about  by  periodic  returns, 
sworn  to  by  the  managers  of  the  corporation  and  filed  with 
the  proper  officer  of  the  government.  In  some  States  these 
returns  are  classified  and  published  in  printed  reports.  The 
returns  must  specify  the  property  of  the  company,  its  debts,  its 
capital  stock,  number  of  stockholders  (and  sometimes  the 
names  of  the  stockholders  and  the  number  of  shares  each 
holds),  the  market  value  of  stock,  and,  in  fact,  all  matters 
which  may  serve  a  creditor  in  his  endeavour  to  learn  the  con- 
dition of  a  business  company. 

Certain  classes  of  corporations  must  seek  a  special  act  of 


408  Regulation  of  Organisations.         [§215 

incorporation.  A  general  law  usually  provides  for  all  ordinaiy 
business  corporations ;  but  banks,  and  in  some  States  railroads 
and  companies  which  seek  to  own  large  amounts  of  property, 
must  be  incorporated  by  special  act  of  the  legislature.  In  these 
cases  the  incorporators  are  granted  a  charter,  clearly  setting 
forth  all  the  business  purposes  of  the  company  and  denning  its 
powers,  limitations,  responsibilities,  capital,  etc.  All  these 
regulations  are  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  public  in  its 
business  interests. 

In  the  matter  of  railroads  State  and  national  statutes  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  grant  to  the  governments  certain  powers  of 
supervision,  through  the  establishment  of  boards  known  as 
railroad  commissioners.  These  commissioners  have  power  to 
regulate  certain  matters  connected  with  the  conduct  of 
railroads,  like  the  location  of  tracks  and  stations,  the  running 
of  trains,  especially  on  Sunday,  the  inspection  of  tracks  and 
bridges,  the  qualifications  of  employees,  and  in  many  ways 
performing  duties  which  are  in  the  interest  of  the  public  in 
protecting  it  against  accidents  and  securing  it  safe  and  com- 
fortable conveniences.  In  some  cases  these  commissioners 
have  limited  powers  relative  to  freight  and  passenger  rates. 

In  1887  the  United  States  government  passed  the  inter- 
state commerce  act  for  the  regulation  of  interstate  commerce, 
giving  a  commission  power  to  inquire  into  all  matters  relating 
to  common  carriers  engaged  in  commerce  between  the  States. 
The  primary  object  of  the  law  was  to  prevent  the  roads  from 
cutting,  reducing,  or  raising  freight  rates,  so  as  to  arbitrarily 
interfere  with  the  regularity  and  stability  of  internal  commerce. 
The  law  prohibited  pooling,  that  is,  an  agreement  to  divide 
the  traffic  and  the  proceeds  of  the  whole  freight  business  pass- 
ing over  several  competing  railroads  by  pre-arrangement,  so 
that  each  should  carry  a  fixed  Droportion  ;  or  an  agreement 
to  divide  the  proceeds  of  all  the  roads  in  a  fixed  system. 
Now  the  demand  is  made  upon  Congress  to  abrogate  this 
provision  and  allow  the  pooling  of  freights,  giving  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  power  to  revise  the  results  of  any 


§215]  Corporations.  409 

pooling  contract.  These  regulations  carry  State  control  ot 
railroads  about  as  far  as  it  can  go  without  taking  the  conduct 
of  the  roads  over  to  the  government  itself.  The  power  and 
expansion  of  corporate  interests,  and  especially  of  railroads, 
seem  to  demand,  for  the  welfare  of  the  public,  at  least  as 
much  regulation  as  that  now  in  existence,  and  it  is  probable 
that  this  course  will  grow  more  essential  as  time  goes  on. 

A  class  of  corporations  which  has  been  brought  under 
very  strict  government  regulation  includes  banks  and  fiduciary 
companies  of  all  kinds.  The  banking  business  of  the  country 
is  performed  now  by  both  private  and  public  banks,  the  for- 
mer having  no  right  to  issue  notes ;  they  are  banks  of  deposit 
and  discount  only.  The  public  banks,  now  known  as  national 
banks,  are  organised' under  Federal  law,  and,  in  addition  to  a 
deposit  and  discount  business,  may  issue  notes  in  due  propor- 
tion to  their  capital ;  these  notes  are  guaranteed  by  the  Federal 
government,  which  guarantee  is  made  safe  through  the  deposit 
with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  of  the  government's 
own  bonds  to  an  amount  sufficient  to  more  than  cover  the 
note  issues  of  the  individual  banks.  Federal  legislation, 
therefore,  is  interested  in  and  responsible  to  a  large  extent  for 
the  business  of  national  banks ;  it  makes  minute  regulations 
for  the  conduct  of  their  business,  prescribes  the  amount  of 
capital  which  may  be  subscribed  on  a  certain  amount  of  bonds 
deposited,  the  value  of  the  notes  which  may  be  issued,  and  in 
many  ways  securing  the  integrity  of  the  national  banking 
business. 

Private  banks  are  not  subject  to  any  regulations  beyond 
those  applying  to  other  corporations,  and  when  conducted 
by  an  individual  or  a  co-partnership  they  are  under  no  regula- 
tions whatever  beyond  the  laws  applying  to  the  conduct  of 
business  generally ;  they  are  trusted  by  the  public  on  account 
of  confidence  in  the  owners  or  managers  and  the  amount  of 
capital  invested  to  secure  the  business  of  the  concern. 

Savings  banks  may  be  mutual  or  stock  companies.  They 
are  regulated  very  carefully  by  the  State  governments,  which 


41  o          Regulation  of  Organisations.         [§215 

have  considered  them  their  peculiar  wards.  This  is  proper, 
because  the  savings  bank  is  an  institution  which  seeks  prima- 
rily to  lead  the  people  into  frugal  ways,  by  offering  them  the 
opportunity  to  make  small  deposits,  oftentimes  as  low  as  one 
cent,  and  after  the  accumulation  of  a  small  amount  paying  a 
certain  rate  of  interest.  By  this  method  the  savings  banks  col- 
lect the  small  savings  of  a  large  number  of  people,  which  in 
the  aggregate  make  a  very  large  sum  of  money  to  be  invested 
by  the  managers  of  the  bank.  The  few  cases  of  failure  of 
savings  banks  have  been  usually  due  to  the  managers  loaning 
money  on  insufficient  security.  In  most  States  where  savings 
banks  are  common,  commissioners  are  appointed  by  the  exec- 
utive, whose  duty  it  is  to  look  after,  inspect,  and  supervise  the 
business  of  these  institutions. 

Most  of  the  State  governments  also  wisely  provide  many 
very  strict  regulations  relating  to  the  conduct  of  insurance 
business ;  for  the  individual  who  wishes  to  protect  his  family 
and  leave  something  to  it  in  case  of  his  misfortune  or  decease 
should  have  his  interests  particularly  guarded  by  law  and  by 
government  officers.  The  usual  officer  is  known  as  an  insur- 
ance commissioner ;  it  is  his  duty  to  examine  periodically  the 
affairs  of  all  insurance  companies  doing  business  within  his 
State,  whether  organised  there  or  in  other  places,  to  carefully 
investigate  their  methods,  and  to  make  a  public  return  of  the 
condition  of  the  companies.  Insurance  companies  may  be 
organised  like  any  other  business  corporations,  but  there  are 
generally  many  special  regulations  relating  to  them  that  do  not 
pertain  to  other  business  concerns. 

In  general,  therefore,  so  far  as  ordinary  business  operations 
are  concerned,  the  people  are  fairly  protected  against  frauds 
and  the  liability  to  misplace  their  confidence  or  credits.  Not- 
withstanding these  regulations,  corporations  are  often  organised 
simply  for  the  purpose  of  selling  its  stock  in  the  market,  and 
then  quietly  ceasing  its  business  operations.  Such  operations 
or  "  stock  booms,"  in  spite  of  law,  frequently  take  place,  and 
many  innocent  persons  are  swindled.  On  the  whole,  however, 


§2i6]  Trusts.  411 

the  regulations  relating  to  business  organisations  are  very  satis- 
factory, although  no  statute  can  prevent  a  man's  being  a  rascal 
and  taking  the  risk  of  punishment. 


216.     Trusts. 

In  late  years  an  organisation  that  has  become  familiar  is 
known  as  the  trust,  which  is  usually  a  union  of  several  corpora- 
tions, companies,  or  concerns  to  control  a  particular  line  of 
business.  A  trust  does  not  consist  simply  of  an  association  of 
three  or  more  persons ;  it  numbers  directly  or  indirectly  cor- 
porate persons,  which  may  be  vast  organisations  already  created, 
either  in  the  form  of  co-partnerships  or  business  corporations. 
The  increase  of  these  combinations  in  the  United  States  has 
caused  many  people  to  fear  that  they  are  a  menace  to  the  gen- 
eral welfare  :  first,  because  through  their  power  concentrated 
capital  may  influence  legislatures  and  congresses  to  pass  laws 
in  their  interest,  contrary  to  the  interests  of  the  public  at 
large ;  second,  because  they  crush  out  smaller  concerns,  thus 
destroying  the  opportunity  of  men  to  become  managers  of  in- 
dividual business  enterprises ;  third,  because  by  their  action 
they  may  raise  prices  by  a  restriction  of  production,  or  by 
a  combination  raise  prices  without  reference  to  production, 
through  their  power  to  control  trade ;  fourth,  because  through 
their  control  of  a  certain  trade  they  are  able  to  keep  wages 
down,  and  thus  injure  the  prospects  of  the  wage- receiver. 
These  specifications  embody  the  general  fears  of  those  who 
see  in  the  trust  organisation  a  menace  to  society. 

Usually  the  combination  is  for  the  control  of  a  special  line 
of  business ;  for  instance,  there  might  be  a  trust  consisting  of 
the  principal  iron  firms  and  companies,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
trolling the  whole  business  of  manufacturing  and  selling  pig- 
iron.  If  the  trust  organisations  find  that  there  are  too  many 
companies  engaged  in  this  business,  they  induce  those  concerns 
to  pool  their  stock,  — that  is,  to  turn  in  their  previous  holdings 
to  a  common  treasury,  —  when  new  certificates  are  issued  on 


412          Regulation  of  Organisations.         [§216 

a  pro  rata  basis  to  each  of  the  companies  represented.  This 
puts  all  the  power  connected  with  the  pig-iron  business  in  the 
hands  of  one  corporation,  for  each  contributing  corporation 
agrees  to  abide  by  certain  rules  as  to  production  or  prices,  and 
thus  is  assured  a  power  to  crush  out  any  small  concerns  which 
do  not  see  fit  to  enter  the  trust.  The  managers  of  the  com- 
bination may  order  a  certain  amount  of  production  from  one 
class  of  works,  and  shift  the  production  at  another  season 
to  another  class;  hence  labour  complains  that  the  trust  is 
a  menace  to  its  interests. 

Naturally,  there  have  been  many  attempts  to  regulate  this 
form  of  organisation.  So  far  as  they  have  been  simply  en- 
larged corporations,  they  have  been  held  legal ;  but  in  many 
cases  this  enormous  power  has  been  enjoyed  by  persons  who 
feel  no  obligation  to  make  public  returns  of  their  business  or 
to  submit  to  public  restrictions.  Hence  the  attempt  has  been 
made  to  regulate  them  by  law.  The  United  States  in  1890 
enacted  the  anti-trust  law,  which  declares  that  every  contract, 
combination  in  the  form  of  a  trust  or  other  wise,  or  conspiracy 
in  restraint  of  trade  or  commerce  among  the  several  States 
or  with  foreign  nations  is  illegal.  The  phraseology  proved  a 
boomerang,  and  has  led  to  the  complaints  by  workingmen 
stated  in  the  treatment  of  government  by  injunction  (see 
chapter  xvi.).  The  constitutionality  of  the  law  of  1890  is 
based  upon  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  which  gives  Con- 
gress power  to  regulate  trade  or  commerce  among  the  States 
an  1  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  suspicion  that  a  trust  or 
business  combination  might  result  in  restraining  the  trade  or 
commerce  between  the  States.  It  makes  every  person  who 
undertakes  or  attempts  to  monopolise,  or  who  combines  or 
conspires  with  any  other  person  or  persons  to  monopolise,  any 
particular  trade  or  commerce  among  the  several  States,  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanour,  and  punishable  on  conviction  by  imprison- 
ment not  to  exceed  one  year,  or  by  fine  not  to  exceed  $5,000, 
or  by  both  such  punishments,  as  the  discretion  of  the  court 
may  determine.  Many  States  have  undertaken  to  regulate 


§2i6]  Trusts.  413 

trusts  by  similar  laws,  but  so  far  these  laws  have  not  been  in- 
strumental in -preventing  their  organisation. 

Many  such  combinations  have  been  broken  through  the  in- 
dependent action  of  some  company  or  concern  which  grows 
uneasy  at  the  terms  of  the  trust ;  such  a  member  sometimes 
sees  an  opportunity  to  increase  production  or  dispose  of 
goods  at  an  advanced  price,  and  does  so  without  reference  to 
the  trust  rules,  and  thus  breaks  the  influence  of  the  combina- 
tion. Thus  natural  impatience  has  often  destroyed  what  law 
itself  could  not  influence. 

A  few  great  trusts  have  survived  both  the  attacks  of  public 
opinion  and  the  influences  of  law.  They  claim  to  be  legal; 
that  they  have  as  good  a  right  to  their  form  of  organisation  as 
any  other  body.  They  contend  that  they  are  in  no  way  a 
menace  to  the  public  interests,  because  their  capital  is  worth- 
less unless  used  in  the  interest  of  the  public,  no  return  being 
possible  unless  the  public  is  faithfully  served ;  that  they  secure 
stability  of  employment  by  regulating  production,  thus  avoid- 
ing many  of  the  disturbances  which  come  to  the  ordinary 
business  establishment ;  that  they  secure  uniformity  of  price, 
and  thus  every  purchaser  knows  what  he  will  be  obliged  to  pay 
for  his  goods.  They  further  claim  to  have  reduced  the  prices 
of  their  goods  in  very  large  degree,  and  that  under  the  trust 
method  of  production  there  is  a  uniformity  of  quality  that  can. 
not  be  secured  under  the  ordinary  methods. 

The  whole  question  is  a  very  interesting  one  to  the  sociolo- 
gist. The  rights  of  the  public  are  certainly  involved ;  but  so 
long  as  trusts  really  do  conduct  their  affairs  in  the  interest  of 
the  public,  and  thereby  secure  a  fair  profit,  and  wages,  on  the 
whole,  are  kept  stable  and  quality  uniform,  the  public  will 
make  little  or  no  complaint  beyond  that  which  naturally  comes 
through  the  power  of  centralised  capital.  In  many  cases  the 
trust  is  simply  a  big  corporation,  which  terrifies  by  its  size ;  in 
other  cases  it  encourages  the  protection  of  its  property,  while 
refusing  to  admit  proper  legal  responsibility. 


4 14          Regulation  of  Organisations.         [§217 

217.    Labour  Organisations. 

There  has  been  but  little  attempt  to  regulate  or  control 
labour  organisations  since  the  trade  unions  became  fairly  es- 
tablished. Probably  they  have  prevented  legislation  hostile  to 
them  more  frequently  than  they  have  been  able  to  secure  laws 
which  they  desired.  In  the  eyes  of  the  law,  labour  unions, 
without  reference  to  their  particular  tenets,  are  purely  volun- 
tary associations,  brought  into  existence  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  the  rights  and  interests  of  their  members  and  furth- 
ering their  prospects  as  to  wages,  hours  of  labour,  and  rules 
and  regulations  under  svhich  employed.  Nearly  all  States  have 
provided  that  such  unions  may  be  incorporated,  like  general 
philanthropic  and  benevolent  associations,  but  as  yet  they  have 
not  seen  fit  to  take  advantage  of  such  laws.  The  only  statutes 
which  relate  particularly  to  labour  unions  in  protecting  them 
or  regulating  them  are  those  concerning  the  use  of  the  union 
label  on  goods  manufactured  by  union  labour  and  protecting 
members  of  unions  from  being  discharged  because  of  their 
membership. 

Trade  unions  are  lawful  in  this  country,  and  generally  in  all 
countries,  or,  in  other  words,  they  are  not  illegal.  Their  acts 
may  be  illegal,  but  their  organisations  are  as  lawful  as  any  that 
may  be  created.  They  have  their  own  by-laws,  penalties,  etc., 
and  may  enforce  them  under  their  own  rules  so  long  as  those 
rules  do  not  contravene  public  law. 

Many  States  make  it  a  misdemeanour  for  any  employer  to  dis- 
charge employees  for  joining  labour  unions,  or  even  for  exact- 
ing pledges  from  them  to  the  end  that  they  shall  not  join  any 
union  or  contribute  to  any  benefit  funds  as  a  prerequisite  for 
employment. 

In  reference  to  the  use  of  the  union  label,  which  has  been 
explained  when  treating  of  the  sweating  system  (see  chapter 
xiii.),  it  has  been  held  by  the  courts  that  the  union  using  it  has 
no  protection  under  the  trade-mark  laws  of  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment, upon  the  assumption  that  labourers  as  such  have  no 


§217]  Labour  Organisations.  415 

individual  property  rights  in  the  results  of  their  labour,  and 
hence  the  counterfeiting  of  their  trade-mark  could  not  in  any 
way  work  a  financial  injury.  This  view  has  been  overcome  by 
statutes,  which  have  been  very  widely  passed,  and  under  which 
members  of  trade  unions  or  the  associated  labourers  in  any 
shop  may  adopt  labels  or  trade-marks  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
designating  the  products  of  their  own  labour  or  of  members 
of  their  own  unions.  Wherever  the  laws  exist,  they  provide 
for  the  registration  of  the  label  in  some  State  office,  and  im- 
pose a  penalty  for  counterfeiting  it.  In  Illinois  it  was  held  by 
the  court  hearing  the  matter  that  a  label  declaring  union-made 
cigars  to  have  been  made  by  a  first-class  workman  who  be- 
longed to  an  organisation  that  was  opposed  to  filthy  tenement- 
house  workmanship  or  other  insanitary  production  could  not 
be  held  illegal  as  being  immoral  or  against  public  policy. 
This  doctrine,  however,  has  been  denied  in  Pennsylvania.  As 
a  rule,  the  union  label  is  now  protected  by  law,  and  when  it 
stands  absolutely  as  a  guarantee  that  goods  have  been  pro- 
duced under  hygienic  and  good  economic  conditions  it  will 
make  its  way  in  public  esteem. 

A  peculiar  feature  of  law  in  some  States  relates  to  the  action 
of  unions  in  preventing  persons  from  learning  or  working  at 
trades.  Such  laws  have  not  become  very  general,  but  they 
strike  at  a  very  peculiar  feature  of  trade-unionism.  The  law 
of  Georgia  may  be  cited  as  an  example,  wherein  it  is  provided 
that  if  any  two  or  more  persons  shall  associate  themselves  to- 
gether in  any  society  or  any  organisation  whatever,  with  the 
intent  and  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  any  person  or  persons 
from  apprenticing  himself  or  themselves  to  learn  and  practise 
any  trade,  craft,  vocation,  or  calling,  or  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
ducing, by  persuasion,  threats,  frauds,  or  any  other  means,  any 
apprentice  in  such  trade,  etc.,  to  leave  the  employment  of  his 
employer  or  employers,  all  such  persons  so  associating  them- 
selves shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanour,  and  upon 
conviction  punished  therefor.  This  is  not  legislation  for  the 
protection  of  trade  unions,  but  legislation  for  the  protection 


4i  6          Regulation  of*  Organisations.         [§217 

of  society  against  certain  acts  of  trade  unions.  Matters  re- 
ferring to  injunction  and  conspiracy  have  been  treated  in  the 
chapter  on  strikes  and  lockouts. 

Much  complaint  has  been  made  at  times  on  account  of  the 
numerous  regulations  which  government  establishes  for  the 
control  or  guidance  of  individuals  and  associations ;  but  it 
should  be  remembered  that  society,  as  it  develops,  becomes 
more  and  more  complicated,  and  there  arises  the  necessity  of 
clearer  recognition  by  each  of  the  other's  rights.  All  this 
means  an  expansion  of  the  functions  of  society,  which  must 
necessarily  result  in  an  increase  in  the  rules  by  which  society 
is  held  intact  and  by  which  its  purpose  is  secured ;  that  is, 
the  happiness  and  well-being  of  the  greatest  number.  The 
highest  form  of  civil  organisation  is  the  state  itself;  all  other 
organisations  exist  by  its  behest,  or  at  least  by  its  will ;  and  it 
has  the  right  and  duty  of  seeing  that  no  individual  shall  escape 
his  obligation  by  going  into  an  organisation,  and  that  no  or- 
ganisation be  persecuted  simply  because  it  is  disliked  by  other 
people. 


Part    VIII. 
Remedies. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

SOLUTIONS    THAT    ARE    PROPOSED    FOR    SOCIAL    AND 
ECONOMIC    DIFFICULTIES. 

218.    References. 

Washington  Gladden,  Social  Facts  and  Forces,  Working  People  and  their 
Employers  and  The  Social  and  Industrial  Situation;  William  F.  Willough- 
by,  Workingm&fs  Insurance  ;  A.  Schaffle,  Quintessence  of  Socialism  and 
Impossibilities  of  Social  Democracy  ;  D.  G.  De  Bernard!,  Labor  Exchange  ; 
Laurence  Gronlund,  Co-operative  Commonwealth;  John  Ruskin,  Unto  this 
Last;  Karl  Marx,  Capital;  William  F.  Willoughby,  Industrial  Commu- 
nities, in  U .  S.  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletins  Nos.  3-7;  Emory  R. 
Johnson,  Railway  Relief  Departments,  in  U.  S.  Department  of  Labour, 
Bulletin  No.  8  ;  J.  Howard  Gore,  The  Dutch  Society  for  General  Welfare, 
and  Alexander  Kent,  Co-operative  Communities  in  the  United  States,  in 
U.  S.  Department  of  Labour,  Bulletins  Nos.  9  and  35 ;  William  E.  Barns, 
Labor  Problem;  Richard  T.  Ely,  Labor  Movement  in  America,  and  Social- 
ism and  Social  Reform;  Henry  George,  The  Condition  oj  Labor  (an  open 
•  letter  to  Pope  Leo  XIII.  including  the  text  of  the  Pope's  encyclical)  ; 
Cardinal  Gibbons,  Dignity,  Rights,  and  Responsibilities  of  Labor,  in  Cos- 
mopolitan, VII.  383  (August,  1889);  J.  A.  Hobson,  The  Social  Problem; 
Max  Hirsch,  Democracy  versus  Socialism;  Charles  H.  Vail,  Principles  of 
Scientific  Socialism;  Ellis  P.  Oberholtzer,  The  Referendum  in  America; 
Gustave  Le  Bon,  The  Psychology  of  Socialism;  William  B.  \Veeden,  Sac/at 
Law  of  Labor;  William  Thomas  Thornton,  On  Labour;  Simon  New- 
comb,  Plain  Man's  Talk  on  the  Labor  Question;  C.  Osborne  Ward, 
Ancient  Lowly;  Alexander  Wylie,  Labor,  Leisure,  and  Luxury;  William 
T.  Harris,  Is  there  Work  enough  for  all?  in  Forum,  XXV.  224  (April, 
1898) ;  Paul  Monroe,  Possibilities  of  the  Present  Industrial  System,  in 
American  Journal  of  Sociology,  III.  729  (May,  1898);  George  Harris, 
27  417 


4i 8  Solutions  Proposed.  [§218 

Inequality  and  Progress ;  Henry  George,  Progress  and  Poverty  ;  Charles  F. 
Dole,  The  Coming  People;  George  Gunton,  Is  Socialism  Feasible  ?  in  Gun- 
ton  Institute  Bulletin,  January  29,  1898;  M.  Godin,  Social  Solutions; 
Robert  Wallace,  The  Psychology  of  Labor  and  Capital,  in  Fortnightly 
/Vz>7V?#,  New  Series,  LIV.  676  (Nov.,  1893);  N.  P.  Gilman,  Socialism 
and  the  American  Spirit ;  David  A.  Wells,  Principles  of  Taxation;  W.  T. 
Harris,  Statistics  versus  Socialism,  in  Forum,  XXIV.  186  (Oct.,  1897)  ; 
Eugen  von  Bohm-Bawerk,  Karl  Marx  and  the  Close  of  his  System ;  Henry 
D.  Lloyd,  Labor  Co-partnership. 

219.  Basis  of  Social  Problems. 

It  is  only  natural  that  the  complications  arising  from  social 
relations  should  constitute  in  themselves  phases  which  are 
called  problems,  and  that  solutions  should  be  sought  for 
them.  To  the  sociologist,  who  has  studied  society  in  its 
growth,  and  understands,  even  partially,  the  unfolding  of  the 
elements  which  make  society,  conditions  are  not  problems ; 
they  are  results,  not  causes,  of  evolution  or  development. 
Therefore,  to  the  sociologist  all  proposed  solutions  for  social 
and  economic  difficulties  are  in  the  nature  of  statements  of 
difficulties  and  of  an  attempt  to  modify  conditions  in  order  to 
bring  about  results  other  than  those  existing ;  nevertheless,  he 
feels  that  proposed  solutions  are  important  as  matters  of  study, 
even  though  they  may  not  contain  within  themselves  any  effec- 
tive remedies  for  supposed  or  recognised  evils. 

The  whole  matter  is  one  of  approach.  The  person  who 
looks  on  social  and  economic  problems  as  all  arising  from 
somebody's  vicious  conduct  is  likely  to  see  in  some  proposed 
panacea  a  cure  for  the  evils  of  which  he  complains.  He  who 
approaches  these  questions  from  the  attitude  of  the  anthro- 
pologist, or  psychologist,  or  the  sociologist,  sees  in  the  alleged 
evils  only  undevelopment,  —  not  evils  which  have  been 
created,  but  conditions  which  are  not  yet  well  perfected.  To 
the  latter  a  proposal  to  remedy  the  evil  is  in  the  nature  of  a 
criticism  and  not  a  settlement.  The  solutions  proposed  at 
various  times  for  the  difficulties  which  beset  society  are  inter- 
esting from  either  standpoint,  and  brief  reference  to  them  is  a 
valuable  phase  of  any  study  of  sociology. 


§220]    Problems  —  Legislative  Remedies.   419 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  deal  with  social  and  economic 
difficulties  separately,  for  they  are  so  intimately  associated 
that  whatever  solution  may  be  proposed  for  one  class  must  in 
the  nature  of  things  apply  to  the  other.  Nor  is  it  the  purpose 
here  to  discuss  the  validity  or  effectiveness,  or  even  the 
desired  results,  of  the  numerous  remedies  which  are  an- 
nounced now  and  then  as  cures  for  the  diseases  of  society,  but 
simply  to  state  the  more  important  suggestions,  bearing  in 
mind  that  it  is  perfectly  easy  to  condemn  society,  and  that  it 
is  the  particular  arraignment  of  those  who  dislike  some  phase 
or  feature  or  function  of  the  social  organisation  that  brings 
into  prominence  the  solution  which  is  selected  as  a  means  of 
relieving  society  from  the  conditions  which  are  condemned. 
We  must  also  remember,  in  considering  proposed  solutions, 
the  great  changes  coming  to  the  world  through  the  substitu- 
tion of  one  great  motive  for  another ;  until  the  last  century 
the  world  was  ruled  from  the  militant  point  of  view,  while  now 
it  is  controlled  by  the  interests  of  industrialism.  It  should 
further  be  remembered  that  whatever  conflicts  of  interest 
exist  at  the  present  time,  they  are  more  generally  intellectual 
than  physical,  and  hence  the  association  of  physical  with  in- 
tellectual conditions  often  confuses  the  mind  and  leads  to  the 
belief  that  it  is  only  the  physical  side  which  needs  attention, 
and  that  the  remedial  agencies  which  would  cure  physi- 
cal ills  cannot  be  applied  to  the  treatment  of  intellectual 
difficulties. 

220.    Minor  Legislative  Remedies. 

The  remedies  for  our  social  evils  most  frequently  proposed 
may  be  brought  under  three  great  classes.  The  first  are  those 
minor  changes  which  may  be  made  by  legislation.  Whenever 
a  difficulty  exists  or  an  evil  result  is  feared  through  existing 
conditions,  the  government  is  called  upon  to  protect  the 
public  ;  legislation  is  sought  without  reference  to  reason,  from 
the  notion  that  somewhere  in  the  realms  of  law  there  must  be 
a  remedy  for  every  social  and  industrial  difficulty.  Legislation 


420  Solutions  Proposed.  [§220 

has  been  applied  most  freely  as  a  remedial  agency  through 
the  laws  relating  to  the  inspection  of  factories,  the  limitation 
of  the  hours  of  labour,  the  securing  of  sanitary  conditions, 
the  adoption  of  the  principles  of  industrial  arbitration,  the 
"extension  of  the  liability  of  employers  for  accidents  to  their 
employees.  The  attempt  has  also  been  made  to  regulate  the 
morals  of  the  people  in  various  directions,  through  the  mul- 
titude of  temperance  laws,  laws  to  regulate  social  evils,  and 
a  whole  code  of  legislation.  Law  has  worked  in  all  these 
directions,  and  yet,  taking  all  legislation  as  a  whole,  or  any 
feature  of  it  as  a  concrete  illustration,  the  social  and  economic 
difficulties  have  not  been  removed,  and  there  has  been  no  full 
solution  of  the  problems  sought  to  be  solved  by  law. 

221.    Remedies  by  Voluntary  Agreement. 

Under  voluntary  remedies  may  be  considered  the  whole 
question  of  the  regulation  of  wages,  a  change  which  cannot 
be  effected  by  law.  The  attempts  in  England  and  in  this 
country,  in  the  early  days  of  its  history,  to  establish  minimum 
or  maximum  wages  in  competitive  business  always  resulted  in 
failure  ;  wages  were  ultimately  not  affected,  and  there  was  an 
increase  of  immoral  action,  for  both  the  employer  and  the 
employee  sought  to  avoid  the  law.  This  will  always  be  the 
result  when  law  attempts  to  say  what  a  day's  labour  shall  be, 
as  against  general  custom,  or  what  price  shall  be  paid  for 
labour. 

Co-operation  and  profit-sharing  (§§  147,  148)  have  been  re- 
sorted to  as  means  by  which  the  relations  of  employer  and  em- 
ployee should  be  made  more  harmonious  and  the  results  of  their 
labours  more  lucrative.  The  institution  of  these  measures  has 
been  beneficial  wherever  applied,  even  when  they  have  failed, 
and  society  has  been  the  gainer.  The  removal  of  difficulties 
by  the  adoption  of  the  principles  of  co-operation  and  profit- 
sharing  has  been  only  incidental  and  partial ;  nevertheless,  the 
results  have  been  most  promising. 

Perhaps  the  chief  voluntary  remedy  suggested  for  social  and 


§  222]  Agreements  —  Socialism.  421 

economic  difficulties  lies  in  the  establishment  ot  confidential 
relations ;  that  is,  the  mutual  treatment  of  employers  and 
employees  on  an  entirely  manly  basis,  under  conditions  like 
those  related  in  the  section  on  conciliation  (§  155).  The 
adoption  of  such  a  remedy  as  that  described  is  more  far- 
reaching  than  any  other  that  can  be  named,  for  it  is  the 
suspicious  attitude  of  the  parties  to  production  that  leads  to 
more  difficulties  than  any  other  one  cause.  Could  they  be 
induced  to  treat  each  other  as  business  associates,  each 
entitled  to  the  confidence  of  the  other,  the  great  struggle  for 
a  higher  standard  of  living  would  be  softened  and  many  of 
the  ugly  quarrels  avoided.  There  are  very  many  minor 
suggestions  which  could  be  called  voluntary  remedies,  but  they 
all  turn  upon  this  one  point  of  manly  treatment 

222.    Remedy  of  the  Socialist. 

Those  persons  who  see  no  good  in  any  of  the  minor  reme- 
dies that  have  been  proposed  by  different  reformers  or  the 
voluntary  remedies  that  have  been  suggested  by  moralists, 
seek  at  once  a  complete  change  of  all  social  and  industrial 
relations  through  the  most  ambitious  remedy  that  can  be  pro- 
posed, —  socialism.  Socialism  deserves  an  entire  volume  for 
its  discussion,  and  no  attempt  will  be  made  in  this  book  to 
analyse  or  define  it.  Under  it  there  is  contemplated  a  com- 
plete revolution  by  some  means,  peaceful  or  otherwise,  of  the 
present  industrial  system,  and  the  establishment  of  a  new 
order,  which  shall  rest  entirely  upon  public  control.  The 
proposal  of  such  an  ambitious  remedy  should  cause  all 
students  to  pause  before  coming  to  a  conclusion,  all  moralists 
to  seek  for  the  deep,  underlying  meaning  of  the  proposition, 
and  all  politicians  and  statesmen  to  consider  particularly  the 
history  of  the  world  and  the  evolution  of  industrial  forces 
everywhere  before  deciding  upon  its  adoption.  It  is  sufficient 
for  the  present  consideration  to  remark  that,  as  defined  by  a 
member  of  the  Fabian  Society  of  London,  "  socialism  is  ;it 
present  a  criticism ;  "  that  there  are  many  features  in  it  which 


422  Solutions  Proposed.  [§222 

commend  themselves  to  all  right-minded  persons ;  that  it 
contains  in  itself  the  co-ordination  of  individualism  and  col- 
lectivism or  social  service,  which  means  the  co-ordination  of 
the  vital  principles  of  competition  and  social  service. 

Those  who  do  not  propose  a  full  and  complete  change 
under  any  form  of  advanced  socialism  suggest  a  modified 
form  in  the  nature  of  nationalism,  which  contemplates  the 
nationalisation,  or  taking  over  to  the  government,  of  the  instru- 
ments of  production,  not  at  once,  not  by  any  revolution- 
ary means,  either  political  or  otherwise,  but  through  gradual 
processes,  on  the  basis  that  as  the  public  becomes  convinced 
of  the  benefit  of  government  ownership  or  control  in  one 
direction,  it  will  take  on  other  affairs  gradually,  until  all  the 
instruments  of  production  and  business  are  in  the  hands  of 
the  government.  The  advocates  of  this  form  of  change,  or 
remedy,  or  solution,  whatever  it  may  be  called,  used  with 
great  effectiveness  the  principles  underlying  the  postal  system, 
the  public-school  system,  and  now  the  municipalisation  of 
quasi-public  works,  like  the  control  and  even  ownership  of 
water,  electric  light,  and  gas  plants  (§  79). 

There  is  still  another  suggestion  which  embodies  a  very 
ambitious  remedy,  and  that  is  a  complete  change  in  our  sys- 
tem of  taxation,  resulting  in  the  adoption  of  what  is  known 
as  the  single  tax.  There  is  nothing  revolutionary  in  this ;  it 
looks  simply  to  such  a  system  of  taxation  that  the  burdens 
shall  fall  upon  the  members  of  society  most  able  to  contribute 
to  common  support.  Could  the  advocates  of  the  single  tax, 
for  instance,  satisfy  the  public  mind  that  society  would  receive 
a  large  proportion  of  the  benefits  which  they  insist  would  come 
from  the  adoption  of  their  system,  the  reform  would  be  carried 
without  hesitation.  The  difficulty  lies  in  demonstrating  what 
the  results  would  be  by  changing  the  present  methods  of  taxa- 
tion ;  and  when  it  is  known  that  there  is  not  now  before  the 
public  a  single  suggestion  relative  to  reform  methods  of  tax- 
ation or  systems  of  collecting  revenue  that  has  not  been  tried 
and  failed  somewhere  and  at  some  time,  the  difficulty  of  con- 
verting the  public  is  increased. 


§223]  The  Social  Problem.  423 

223.   What  is  the  Social  Problem  ? 

With  this  partial  enumeration  of  proposed  remedies  there 
come  the  greater  and  more  pressing  inquiries,  What  is  there 
to  remedy  ?  What  is  the  social  problem  ?  What  is  the  labour 
question  ?  If  we  read  the  history  of  the  world  and  note  the 
evolution  of  social  and  economic  forces,  we  must  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  society  is  the  result  of  a  very  gradual  evolution 
from  the  crudest  possible  forms  of  existence,  and  that  labour, 
which  represents  the  means  by  which  society  supports  and 
develops  itself,  is  something  more  than  mere  work.  Ruskin's 
definition  of  labour  in  "  Unto  This  Last "  appeals  to  one's 
reason  in  this  inquiry.  "  Labour,"  he  says,  "  is  the  contest  of 
the  life  of  man  with  an  opposite,  the  term  *  life  '  including  his 
intellect,  soul,  and  physical  power,  contending  with  question, 
difficulty,  trial,  or  material  force.  Labour  is  of  a  higher  or 
lower  order  as  it  includes  more  or  fewer  of  the  elements  of 
life  ;  and  labour  of  good  quality,  in  any  kind,  includes  always 
as  much  intellect  and  feeling  as  will  fully  and  harmoniously 
regulate  the  physical  force."  This  definition  is  comprehen- 
sive, and  throws  much  light  upon  the  cause  of  so-called  diffi- 
culties. It  teaches  us  that  the  real  labour  question  is  the 
struggle  of  humanity  for  a  higher  standard.  This  struggle  is 
not  new;  it  is  the  old  conflict  which  has  existed  since  the 
opening  of  the  history  of  man.  Every  step  in  civilisation  has 
been  achieved  by  it,  and  it  is  the  method  of  history.  It  is 
a  conflict  which  cannot  be  avoided,  and  should  it  be  avoided, 
the  result  would  be  not  only  the  death  of  industry,  but  the 
disintegration  of  society.  The  conflict  is  the  labour  questidn 
in  the  broadest  sense,  not  the  minor  problems  of  rates  of 
wages  and  the  hours  of  labour.  Lifting  the  labour  question 
upon  this  high  plane,  the  remedies  proposed  seem  trivial,  for 
the  human  mind  cannot  be  compelled  to  remain  inactive,  and 
so  long  as  it  is  active  there  must  be  conflict.  We  must  agree 
with  John  Stuart  Mill  in  his  declaration  that  "  there  is  not  any 
one  abuse  or  injustice  prevailing  in  society  by  merely  abolish- 


424  Solutions  Proposed.  [§223 

ing  which  the  human  race  would  pass  out  of  suffering  into 
happiness ;  "  yet  we  can  feel  with  most  of  those  who  have  any 
remedy  to  propose,  that  they  may  contribute  to  a  softening  of 
the  struggle,  which,  after  all,  is  the  real,  great  question. 

One  of  the  most  striking  illustrations  along  this  line  is  the 
fact  that  the  institution  of  slavery  was  one  of  the  grandest 
progressive  steps  in  the  development  of  society.  Under  bar- 
barous conditions,  and  before  man  recognised  his  own  eco- 
nomic value,  captives  were  put  to  death  by  their  captors ;  but 
when  the  captors  learned  that  the  services  of  the  captives 
could  be  utilised,  slavery  began,  life  was  spared,  and  the 
economic  value  of  men  recognised.  So  slavery  constituted 
one  great  step  in  the  struggle  for  civilisation.  When  the 
progress  of  mankind  made  a  system  of  free  labour  which  was 
far  superior  to  that  of  slave  labour,  both  in  efficiency  and  hu- 
manity, then  slavery  became  a  stumbling-block  and  had  to  give 
way  to  a  vastly  higher  system. 

As  a  result  of  this  struggle,  not  by  avoiding  it,  society  is 
creating  a  new  man ;  it  is  compelling  the  economic  individual 
of  the  older  political  economists  to  give  way  to  the  social  and 
ethical  conception,  —  to  the  co-ordinated  man,  who  compre- 
hends social  service  as  well  as  selfish  service.  And  out  of 
this  struggle,  again,  grows  the  new' political  economy,  which, 
as  Henry  D.  Lloyd  puts  it,  is  teaching  the  world  that  "  there 
is  a  new  self-interest  of  the  individual  who  puts  his  family 
befote  himself,  his  country  before  his  family,  mankind  before 
his  country,  because  there  "is  filtering  into  his  conscience  the 
vast  fact  that  his  share  of  what  is  done  for  him  by  mankind  is 
of  far  more  value  to  him  than  what  he  does  for  himself.  There 
is  a  new  state,  —  the  organised  body  of  Christ,  —  which  feeds 
the  hungry,  heals  the  sick,  and  visits  those  in  prison,  and 
gathers  up  the  children.  There  is  a  new  religion, — a  religion 
of  progress,  and  of  man  as  a  partner  in  the  creation  of  that 
progress." 

The  study  of  proposed  solutions  of  alleged  evils  or  problems 
convinces  one  that  there  is  coming  a  revival  of  a  religion  which 


§  223]  The  Social  Problem.  425 

shall  hold  in  its  power  the  church,  industry,  commerce,  and  the 
whole  social  fabric.  Any  solution,  all  solutions  which  may  be 
proposed  must  embody  within  themselves  some  phase  of  such 
a  religion,  and  unless  they  do  embody  it  and  secure  its  adop- 
tion so  far  as  they  can,  they  will  have  no  force.  Thus  the 
application  of  the  principles  underlying  all  the  solutions  of  the 
problem,  applied  all  along  the  line,  may  help  to  soften. the  strug- 
gle that  is  the  great  labour  question,  but  it  cannot  remove  it. 
In  this  view  of  the  question  one  might  reasonably  ask,  Can 
there  be  any  remedy  for  a  continuing  struggle  ?  With  every 
new  development  shall  we  not  still  find  confronting  us  the 
great  wall  of  the  imperfection  of  human  nature?  If  practical 
sociology  is  a  study  of  the  society  of  men,  it  is  also  a  study  of 
man  as  he  shows  himself  in  society.  The  science,  and  this 
volume  as  a  contribution  to  the  science,  have  no  function  or 
reason  for  existence  if  they  do  not  help  us  to  adapt  our  social 
institutions  to  mankind  as  they  are  made,  and  equally  to  do 
our  part  to  bring  about  that  rise  of  human  character  which 
must  be  the  foundation  of  social  reform. 


INDEX. 


[Titles  of  sections  are  given  in  the  Table  of  Contents  and  are  not  repeated  in  the  Index.] 


,    CHARLES    FRANCIS, 


140. 


Age  for  marriage  contract,  156. 
Agriculture,  Department  of,  and  tech- 

nical schools,  202. 
Aldrich,  Nelson  W.,  228. 
"  Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland," 

341. 

Appleton,  Edward,  261. 
Appliances  of  the  Modern  Labour  Sys- 

tem, ch.  xiv.,  250-270. 
Apprentices  and  organised  labour,  204. 
Apprenticeship    system,   204  ;    decline 

of,  225. 
Arbitration,  compulsory,  in  New  Zea- 

land,  298;   act   of   Federal    Govern- 

ment, 297. 

Art  museums,  of  Berlin,  339. 
Art,  The  Relation  of,  to  Social  Weil- 

Being,  ch.  xix.,  331-342. 
Association,  power  of,  66. 
Atwater,  W.  O.,  201. 
Australian  ballot,  405. 

BALDWIN,;.  M.,  5. 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  strike, 

293- 
Baths,  municipal,  in   American   cities, 

149. 
Belfield,  Henry  II.,  relation  of  manual 

and  academic  instruction,  199. 
Belgium,  professional  schools  of,  194. 
Berlin,  municipal  baths  of,  148. 
Billings,  John  S.,  123. 
Birth  rate,  native  and  foreign,  112. 
Bishop,  Joel  Prentiss,  155. 
Blacklists,  301. 


Brockaway,  Dr.,  of  Elmira  Reforma- 
tory, 388. 

Brooks,  John  Graham,  248. 
Brush,  Dr.,  381. 
Bryce,  James,  94. 
Budapest,  municipal  baths  in,  148. 

CAMBRIDGE     Manual      Training 

School,  197. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  local  option  in,  397. 
Canadian-French,  109. 
Charities,  associated,  328. 
Chicago  Manual  Training  School,  194, 

197. 
Chicago  strike  of  1894,  293  ;  injunctions 

at  time  of,  303. 
Children,  age  limit  for  employment  of, 

211. 
Children  and  women,  hours  of  labour 

of,  209. 

Civil  War,  effect  of,  363. 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  market  system  in,  150. 
Co-employment,  doctrine  of,  266. 
Consumers'  League,  248,  251. 
Cooking  schools,  201. 
Co-ordinated  man,  424. 
Corporations,  relation  to  employees,  271. 
Cotton,  consumption  of, per  capita,  253. 
Counties  in  the  South,  93,  95. 
Crcfcld,  textile  laboratories  of,  194. 
Crime,  The  Punishment  of,  ch.  xxii., 

3/I-389- 

Crime,  absence  of,  among  kindergarten 
pupils,  181;  among  natives  and  for- 
eign-born, 352;  classification  of  in 
Massachusetts,  354,  355. 

Criminal  codes,  variation  in,  358,  371. 


428 


Index. 


Criminals,   mostly    young    men,   367 ; 

types  of,  360,  361. 
Criminology,  ch.  xxi.,  350-370. 

J)EBS,  EUGENE,  303. 

Dewey,  Davis  R.,  243,  246. 
Dike,  Samuel  W.,  162. 
District  of  Columbia,  97. 
Divorce,  among  religious   bodies,  162; 

courts  in  Canada  and  Europe,  162, 

163;  trivial  causes  of,  161. 
Divorce  proceedings,  representation  by 

State,  174. 
Dublin,  rental  of  workmen's  dwellings 

in,  144. 
Du  Cane,  Sir  Edmund,  384. 

TTARNINGSin  various  countries,  309. 
Edinburgh,  rental   of  workmen's 

dwellings  in,  144. 
Education,  ch.  xi.,  177-207. 
Education,   for  whole   people  and  for 

classes,  178. 

Electric  power  on  street  railroads,  136. 
Elmira  Reformatory,  387,  388. 
Employees,  rights  under  common  law, 

286. 
Employment  of  Women  and  Children, 

ch.  xii.,  208-222. 
Engel,  Ernst,  237. 

England,  Employers'  Liability  Act,  267. 
Estates  in  New  York  and  Boston,  346. 

Y,  elevates  labour,  225 ;  in- 
spectors, association  of,  264;  op- 
eratives, character  of,  in  Manchester, 
Eng.,  219. 

Family,  security  of,  170;  the  keystone 
of  society,  72. 

Father  and  mother,  relations  with  chil- 
dren, 71. 

Felonies,  371. 

Fifty,  Committee  of.  study  by,  of  liquor 
problem,  402,  403. 

Foreign-Born,  ch.  iy.,  46-64. 

France,  professional  schools  of,  194. 

Functions,  social,  division  of,  under 
different  governments,  91. 

(~JAKRAGE,  removal  or  destruction 
of,  131. 


Germany,  street  railways  of,  141. 

Giddings,  F.  H.,  5. 

Glasgow,  baths  in,  148;  street  railways 

of,  141 ;  tenements  in,  144. 
Gould  system,  strike  on,  1885-86,  293. 
Greater  London,  120. 
Grundman,  Moritz,  249. 

J-JAMILTON,   ALEXANDER,  re- 
port on  manufactures,  10. 
Harris,  William  T.,  231. 
Hand  and  machine  labour,  224. 
Home  science,  201,  202. 
Homestead,  strike  at,  1892,  293. 
Huddersfield,    rental    of     workmen's 
dwellings  in,  144. 

JDLENESS  and  crime,  366. 

Immigrants,    cost  of    passage    of, 

1 1 1 ;  death  rate  among,  113;  who  are 

paupers  or  criminals,  no. 
Immigration,   46,   49;    ch.    vii.,    105- 

114. 

Indeterminate  sentences,  373,  374. 
Industrialism  TS.  militancy,  419. 
Industrial  training,  effects  of,  197. 
Injunction,  "  blanket,"  304. 
Insanitary  conditions  and  crime,  367. 
Institutions,  science  of,  i. 
Interstate  Commerce  Act,  408. 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  304. 
Iron,  consumption  of,  253. 

JEFFERSON,  THOMAS,  94. 
J     Juvenile  reformation,  330. 


KINDERGARTENS,   absence 

crime  on  account  of,  181. 


of 


T  ABOUR,  definition  by  Ruskin,  423. 
Labour,  Old  and  New  Systems  of, 
ch.  xiii.,  223-249. 

Labour  unions,  incorporation  of,  275, 
276. 

Lamartine,  175. 

Lathrop,  Mr.,  Supt.  of  New  York 
prisons,  385. 

Leclaire,  father  of  profit-sharing  sys- 
tem, 281. 

Leeds,  street  railways  of.  141. 

Legislative  bodies  in  U.  S.,  98. 


Index. 


429 


La  Play,  F.,  210. 

Letourneau,  Ch.,  169. 

Liberty  statue,  332. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  347;   on   lynching, 

377- 
Liverpool,   baths    in,    148;    rental    of 

workmen's  dwellings  in,  144. 
Lloyd,  Henry  D.,  424. 
London,  baths  in,  148;  county  council, 

133  ;  municipal  dwellings  of,  144. 
Louvre,  gallery  of  the,  339. 
Low,  Sidney  J.,  119. 
Lynchings,  statistics  of,  375,  376. 

jyjACDONALD,    ARTHUR,    358, 

359- 

McCook.  Dr.  J.  J.,  246. 

Machinery,  alleged  monotony  in  use 
of,  256;  moral  and  economic  effects 
of,  250;  no  debasement  by  its  use, 
259;  results  in  increasing  number 
employed,  253-255. 

Manchester,  Eng.,  baths  in,  148;  not  a 
factory  town,  219,  220;  rental  of 
workmen's  dwellings  in,  144. 

Marriage,  definitions  of,  155;  license, 

157- 

Marriage  and  Divorce,  ch.  x.,  151-176. 
Marriages,  registration  of,  157. 
Misdemeanours,  371. 
Montaigne,  173. 
Montclair,      N.      J.,      manual-training 

schools  of,   198. 

Motive  power  on  street  railroads,  136. 
Mulhall,  Michael,  309,  312,  392. 

RATION,  the,  and  the  State,  88. 

National  gallery  of  London,  339. 
Nationalism,  422. 
Native  and  Foreign  Born,  ch.  iv.,  46- 

64. 

New  York,  trade  schools  in,  200. 
New    Zealand,  compulsory  arbitration 

in,  298. 
Norwegian   or   Gothenburg   system  of 

regulating  liquor  traffic,  398,  399. 

QCCUPATIONS,  classification  of,  in 

U.   S.,   211. 

Omaha,  manual-training  schools  of,  198. 
Organisations,  relation  to  law,  86. 


pAUPERS,  in  England  and  Wales, 
325  ;  wards  of  society,  324. 

Peabody,  George,  144. 

Pell,  Edward  L.,  375,  377. 

Philadelphia,  trade  and  art  schools  in, 
200. 

Pittsburg.  strike  at,  1877,  293. 

Platen,  German  artist-poet,  331. 

Political  economy,  the  new,  424. 

Political  Units,  ch.  vi.,  88-104. 

Population,  the,  of  the  United  States, 
ch.  ii.,  21-32. 

Population,  classification  by  nativity, 
race,  colour,  etc.,  46-64;  classification 
by  sex,  age,  families,  etc.,  33-45 ;  its 
distribution,  21-32;  of  cities,  96;  of 
United  States  and  of  the  world,  22. 

Postal  savings  banks,  315. 

Postmaster-General,  on  postal  savings 
banks,  315. 

Poverty,  ch.  xviii.,  322-330. 

Prices,  235. 

Production,  new  law  of,  260. 

Profit-sharing,  general  benefits  of,  283. 

Public  schools,  advantages  of,  188;  ob- 
jections raised  against,  187,  189;  pos 
sible  improvement  in  methods,  191. 

Pullman,  town  of,  337. 

Punishments,  classification  of,  372. 

QUESTIONS  relating  to  Strikes  and 
Lockouts,  ch.  xvi.,  287-306. 

RAPID  TRANSIT,  moral  influence 

of,  137- 
Registration  of   marriages,   defects  in, 

158. 
Regulation  of  Organisations,  ch.  xxiv., 

404-416 
Relations  of  Employer  and  Employee, 

ch.  xv.,  271-286. 
Revenue  of  liquor  traffic,  classification 

of,  394- 

Keybaud,  Louis,  343. 
Rich,  Are  they  growing  Richer  and  the 

Poor  Poorer  ?  ch.  xx.,  343-349. 
Rochdale  system,  278,  279. 
Ruskin,  John,  423. 

gAGE,  WARDEN,  of  Sing  Sing,  387. 
Salaries  of  teachers,  2.11. 


43° 


Index. 


«  Scab,"  300. 

Schaffle,  A.,  366. 

Schooling,  average  amount  of,  184. 

Schools,  public,  Americanising  effect 
on  foreigners,  185;  enrolment  in 
various  countries,  184;  industrial, 
various  grades  of,  193;  parochial, 
180;  professional,  194;  various  forms 
of,  178,  179. 

Sewell,  Samuel,  71. 

Shaw,  Robert,  monument,  332. 

Simmel,  George,  4. 

Single  tax  theory,  422. 

Sistine  Madonna,  339. 

Skilled  labour,  increased  by  factory, 
225;  increased  proportion  of,  253. 

Slater,  John  F.,  fund,  196. 

Slavery  a  gain  for  civilisation,  424. 

Slum  population  not  increasing,  117- 

122. 

Smith,  Adam,  256. 

Socialism,  421. 

Social  sciences,  the,  2. 

Social  Units,  ch.  v.,  65-87. 

Society,  theories  of  organisation,  3. 

Sociological  effects  of  public  schools, 
184. 

Sociology,  The  Basis  of  Practical,  ch.  i., 
1-20. 

Sociology,  first  use  of  the  term,  3; 
practical,  6;  the  old  and  new  con- 
ceptions of,  4 ;  what  it  comprehends, 

2. 

Solutions  of  problems,  matter  of  ap- 
proach, 418. 

Solutions  that  are  proposed  for  Social 
and  Economic  Difficulties,  ch.  xxv., 
417-425. 

Solutions  through  legislation,  419. 

South  Carolina,  liquor  system  in,  399. 

South  Manchester,  Ct.,  home  surround- 
ings, 146. 

Spauldin",  Randall,  182. 

Special  Problems  of  City  Life,  ch.  ix., 
125-150. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  173. 

St.  Louis,  manual-training  schools, 
194,  197. 

Standard,  higher,  of  living,  the  real 
labour  question,  424. 

State,  the,  and  the  nation,  88. 


State,  the,  can  change  its  organic  laws, 

89. 

States,  various  kinds,  89. 
Statistics,    in    study   of    sociology,   8; 

official  contributions,   n,  12,  13,  14, 

15,    16;  private  collections,  16,  19; 

right  of  governments  to  collect,   8; 

State  collections,  18. 
Status  of  the  Population  of  the  United 

States,  ch.  iii.,  33-43. 
Steel,  consumption  of,  253. 
Street  railways,  of   Germany,   141  ;   of 

Glasgow,  141;  of  Leeds,  141. 
Strikes,    at   Chicago,   293  ;    at   Home- 

stead,  293  ;    at    Pittsburg,    293  ;    of 

American    Railway   Union,   294;   of 

bituminous    coal    miners,    293;    on 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  293;  on 

Pennsylvania  railroad,  293. 
Suspicion,  a  leading  cause  of  labour  dis- 

putes, 421. 
Switzerland,  professional    schools    of, 

194. 


,  GABRIEL^. 

Temperance  Question,   The,  ch. 

xxiii.,  390-403. 
Textile  factory,  establishment  in  Amer- 

ica, 210. 

Thiry,  J.  H.,  315. 
Toledo,  Manual  Training  School,  194; 

manual-training  school  a  gift,  198. 
Towns  in  New  England,  93. 
Townships,  93. 
Trade  Schools  of  New  York,  Philadel- 

phia, and  Brooklyn,  195. 
Tramps  in  England,  242. 
Trust,  anti,  laws,  412;    law  of  United 

States,  304. 

UNION  label,  248,  414. 

Urban  and  Rural  Population,  ch. 

viii.,  115-124. 
U.   S.    Government,  expenditures  foi 

science,  17. 

VAN  BUREN,  PRESIDENT,  ten- 

hour  order,  239. 

Vienna,  municipal  baths  in,  148. 
Vigilance  committees,  374,  375. 


Index. 


431 


\YAGE-EARNERS,  function  of,  in 

society,233;  in  United  States,227. 
Wages  and  prices,  relatively,  237. 
Wages,  in  specific  employments,  230; 

real,  227,  228;  money  value,  227;  of 

convicts,  380. 

Walker,  Francis  A.,  in.  112,  367. 
Ward,  Lester  F.,  4,  5. 
Waring.  George  E.,  Jr.,  131. 
Washington,  D.  C.,  manual  training  in 

schools  of,  198. 
Water,  waste  of  public,  127. 
Waterlow,  Sir  Sidney,  144,  145. 
Wealth,  The  Accumulation  of,  ch.  xvii., 

307-321. 


Wealth    of    U.    S.,    classification    of, 

310. 

Wealth,/^  capita,  310. 
Westermarck,  Edward,  156. 
Willey,  Freeman  Otis,  346. 
Wines,  F.  H.,  351. 
Women  and  children,  hours  of  labour 

of,  in  England,  209;   wards   of  the 

State,  211. 
Women,    economic    independence    of, 

171 ;  respect  for,  in  U.  S.,  249. 
Workingmen,   attitude   of,   to   manual 

training    and    trade    and    technical 

schools,  204. 


Date  Due 

iO 

7  1963 

APR  2  3 

1981 

5RARY  FACILITY 

niiinniiiii 

iwy* 

Hill 

145    3 

Library  Bureau  Cat.  No.  1137 

